Desperately Out-manned with No Allies
by vupgirl
Summary: With Arizia in ruins, King Charles gives his daughter's hand to the prince of his country's biggest foe, Englasia, to unite the two countries under Englasia's flag and save his people. Crown Prince Edward of Englasia accepts, expecting an ignorant woman from a hated and fallen nation whose life he can make miserable while continuing his rakish ways. He wasn't prepared for Isabella.
1. Prologue

**Hello, all! This is my first attempt at publishing fiction, so I hope you enjoy. I'm not sure if I'll continue, but this plot just popped into my head, so I figured I'd share. Hope you let me know your thoughts! It's B/E and M just to be safe.**

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"Just tell me why, _Princess_," the prince sneered at his wife of three months, trying to contain his fury. "Why do you, in front of the whole of the court, insist on acting as though we are strangers?"

His furious glare had no effect on the woman sitting on the couch across from him. The prince had demanded this private meeting with her in a largely unused sitting room when, after yet another night of her conduct, he was pushed past his point of endurance. The princess was as composed as ever, her unreadable face completely unfazed by his words or his tone. A trained eye could catch the gleam of amusement in her stare, but no one able to read her so was present in the room, or, indeed, the country.

"Aside from the fact that we are strangers, my lord?" was her simple and pointed reply. Her tone was politely disinterested.

"We have been joined before God and men in holy matrimony!" the prince raged. "How acquainted we are is of no consequence! You embarrass me continually with your behavior."

He jumped up and loomed over her in an effort to scare compliance from her. But neither her posture nor her expression altered in the slightest.

"You are not embarrassed," she said candidly. "Your people believe you able to heal the blind and walk on water, and they'd declare so were it not blasphemous. My actions can certainly not harm your pride or your position in their eyes. If anything, I am making the court even more sympathetic toward you, their beloved prince so wronged by the cold, vain Arizian princess. You are not embarrassed, so what about my actions vexes you so?"

"You are my wife! I deserve your attention!" he exclaimed with fire in his eyes.

"So you admit that this is merely a matter of being used to getting your own way," she said with a small secret smile followed by an exasperated sigh. "I am the toy that you do not want but that you expect to always be at your disposal and no one else's. In short, you're acting spoilt."

Crown Prince Edward of Englasia sputtered for a moment, unable against her accurate logic to come up with a legitimate reason for his ire over her inattention. He looked for a moment as though he would reprimand her, but his need to understand her actions outweighed his anger over the slight. Since he had no answer for her, he brought the conversation back to its intended purpose.

"So you refuse to explain your behavior where I am concerned? You refuse to say why you sit by yourself rather than dance with me, why your glance is infrequent and cool, why your answers to me are short and unfeeling?" he accused.

"I could tell you the reason for my deliberate and public indifference to your person, but I fear it will only further fray your already sorely taxed nerves," Princess Isabella retorted with something akin to derision.

"If it is my reaction you fear, I swear you will not be punished for anything you say in this meeting," the prince allowed, feeling as though he was bestowing a great and generous gift upon her. He was willing to briefly relinquish his typical rigid control over what is said in his presence in favor of the answers he craved, and he was sure her wit couldn't possibly be up to the task of truly insulting him in any event.

"How magnanimous of you." There was no mistaking the tone of sarcasm in her voice now.

"Woman, do not try my patience!"

"I'll be direct then. I have no allies in this country, sire. That which I do I must do with no help. And since I'm desperately out-manned, I must win by superior cunning rather than force," she explained shrewdly.

"You speak as though you are waging a war." It was his turn to be derisive.

"I am, of sorts," she said, as though she had not heard his tone. She casually stood up to match his stare. "Not of physical one, of course, but a social one, a relational one. You won that war with your subjects merely by virtue of being born. I have no such advantage and countless handicaps to hinder me."

"You are nothing like they said you were," he told her almost accusingly.

"And what did they say I was?"

"The kind of princess who was so sweet that merely watching you smile could make one's teeth rot," he said, openly mocking her now. "The kind who showered everybody such overwhelming kindness that most believe you unaware that guile exists. I find you nothing of the sort."

"And how do you find me?"

"Cold and feelingless," he said without hesitation.

"And that will be the image I project for now," Isabella said matter-of-factly. "Everybody in this country is predisposed to feel scorn towards me, and that scorn will double should I act good-natured all the time. If I show my inherent kindness in the current climate, I will be ridiculed for insincerity, for obliviousness, and for weakness. None of those would be true, but that is how my actions would be perceived. I must first earn their respect, for only then will they accept my kindness."

"You know that my people love me," the prince's tone had turned slightly persuasive. "If it is their good favor you seek, openly enjoying time with me could only help you."

"Yes, your people love you. They love you so much that they overlook the many mistresses you have stashed about court and the whore houses you frequent when chance takes you beyond its confines."

"You know—?"

"Of course I know," she said dismissively. "All of the court knows. And were I to publicly acknowledge you as more than my sovereign lord – were I to give you my smiles and my laughter, were I to dance with you and converse amiably with you – I feel certain that they would be more agreeable to making idle chat with me at gatherings and less likely to openly revile me. But they would laugh behind their hands to one another at the idiot Arizian who is either so stupid that she doesn't know her husband spreads his seed about to countless women throughout the kingdom or is so weak that she will overlook it completely and dote upon him nonetheless. The last thing an alliance with you would yield, my lord, is respect."

"Who told you of these things?" Edward asked, enraged. "I've been far too discreet for you to have figured them out on your own."

Isabella threw her head back and laughed. "Discreet? I don't think you know the meaning of the word. You've never achieved stealth in your life, but the kingdom looks the other way when you attempt it so as to allow you to think you have succeeded. Besides, I can name every woman in court that you have bedded."

"That's preposterous," he scoffed.

"Not so, my lord. There are several tells. Some of the bolder ones, who seem to value _discretion_ less than you do," she said mockingly, "have approached me with an air of unfounded authority and tried to intimidate me. As though there is some sort of competition for your affections and they have won. I quickly and decisively put them straight, and they all walked away with their pride wounded. I'm sure they sought you to bolster it back up the same night."

"They approached you?" he repeated disbelievingly. Isabella noted how oblivious he seemed to the possessive and jealous nature of women.

"I could have named them even if they hadn't. The ones who enjoy your bed look at me rather smugly, as though having your eye makes them superior to me, though I've never thought that being able to lie on one's back and spread one's legs was much of an accomplishment. The ones whom you've previously bedded but stopped gracing with your presence give me looks of malicious jealousy, as though they'd like to gouge my eyes out with their gazes. The ones who pine for you but have never shared your bed look at me with jealousy as well, but their gazes are forlorn and longing. The only decent women in your court, whose numbers are shockingly small, look at me with the ill-defined contempt with which your people look at all those from my homeland."

Edward stood there with his mouth open, not certain how to respond to these revelations. He had counted on his wife's blissful ignorance of all that went on around her. Indeed, he had looked forward to laughing with his friends about his stupid, self-absorbed, oblivious Arizian bride. He certainly did not expect the cunning, self-assured, and observant woman before him.

Isabella deduced that he had had enough frankness for one night. "If that is all we need to discuss, my lord, the night is grows old, and I need sleep to function well in enemy territory."

When Edward still didn't respond, she took it as implied dismissal and turned to leave. But before she took more than two steps, he spoke, wanting to injure her pride as she had his.

"Before you leave, Princess, I require clarification on something you said earlier," he called.

"Of course, my lord," she responded, turning around once again.

"You said that my mistresses spoke to you as though they had won my affections. Well, does not the evidence point that way? After all, I bed you out of duty. I bed them out of desire," he finished smugly, sure that that would be a dagger to her fragile female heart.

"You misquote me, my lord," she said conversationally, without a hint his words affected her at all. "I never said they didn't hold your affections – I said there was no competition for those affections. My meaning was that I do not compete for them. It matters not to me where your attentions lie, as having your regard would in no way benefit me. Why would I want the eye of a boy who, for lack of true wisdom or leadership, seeks to prove he is a man by bedding multitudes of willing women – something which requires no skill and achieves nothing? Why would I seek the devotion of such a one? Nay, you may bestow your affections where you will, sire. I have no need of them."

And with that example of brutal honesty, she turned on her heel and walked out of the door, a small smirk on her face. The Crown Prince of Englasia, however, didn't see it. He stood gazing off into space with his mouth agape, an expression he had become far too familiar with in the last several minutes. His thoughts rested on his completely unflappable wife, wondering at her ability to cut him to the quick with her well-place words, while his feeble attempts to do the same merely bounced off her, as ineffectual as a blunt blade against steel armor.

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**Please give me your thoughts (good, bad, or ugly)! :)**

**Two questions: (1) Should I continue? and if so, (2) should I go back and start from the very beginning, or should I continue from where I left off and give you background as I go? You choice on both issues.**


	2. Meet Isabella

**Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites, follows, and encouragements to continue. You all seem to like this Bella, so I thought I'd give you a peak into her mindset and background. This chapter has no action, but since this story is in third person and Bella has no one to talk to about her thoughts and feelings, we won't get much insight into her character moving forward. I have no beta, so all mistakes are my fault. Hope you enjoy, and I'll see you at the bottom!**

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Isabella made her way swiftly and decisively to her chambers, pleased with how the conversation had unfolded. The prince's reactions were as predictable as they were childish, though his potential for true greatness had become evident over the last three months of observation.

The adoration of his people had blinded him to his shortcomings. Courtiers and peasants alike lauded him for his prowess in the joust and the hunt, and his male friends deified him for his ability to catch women, who fawned over his ruggedly handsome countenance and impressive physique. None, however, had confronted him with his lack of depth as a leader or, truly, a person. That was one of many tasks she had set for herself in this relational war: make evident to him his flaws that he might correct them. And though there were many to be enumerated, the night's conversation laid the groundwork for his correction of one flaw in particular.

He was a fool if he thought she intended to spend the rest of her life tolerating his many trysts with other women, but her patience in the matter was essential in order to achieve the desired end. If she were to insist on his fidelity now, he would not only laugh in her face, but he would also see her desire to be his only bedmate as a way to claim some imagined power over her. Nor would she by false devotion and outpourings of doting affection try to change his ways. He has not earned such attentions from her, and she did not intend to act as his mistresses did, as though no matter how he treated her, he was the pinnacle of the male species. Mayhap his mistresses were so devoted that they truly believed such, but she was not so shallow. No, her course was far more subtle yet far more powerful than blustering demands or simpering overtures.

The vague strategy she laid out for him was indeed her goal for the general populace: earn their respect that they might receive the benefits of her kindness and wisdom. Her other goals she left unsaid. By gaining his people's respect, showing them kindness, and portraying unwavering strength to him and his kin, she planned to gain _his_ respect as well. Only then would his actions to her turn favorably. Once he had become a man worthy of a true gentlewoman and, in doing so, earned _her_ respect, then they could move forward as man and wife and as the future king and queen of both their peoples.

She roused from her thoughts upon entering her chambers, careful to maintain the persona she had carefully cultivated over the months. Her three handmaidens all curtsied and began helping her undress stoically and without a word, perpetuating a routine that had already been cultivated. She regarded them with the same attitude as she regarded Edward and, indeed, every Englasian she had encountered. Not with haughtiness, nor with disdain, but with polite distance. She had been removing herself from every situation the better to observe, to watch, and above all, to listen. She had been slowly but profitably building a mental catalogue of the members of the court and the issues of the day, the better to intelligently engage with the people and issues when the time was right. Respect, the key to all her plans, cannot be won with ignorance of the topics important to those from whom she is soliciting favor.

"Will that be all, ma'am?" asked the youngest of her handmaidens with an air of struggling to be remember her place. It was one of the rare moments in their routine which called for speech.

"Yes, thank you, Breanne," Isabella answered politely.

The three all curtsied and left the room and the princess to be alone for the rest of the night.

As Isabella laid down in her lavish bed, she allowed herself a rare moment to be a young woman in a strange land without a friend to call her own. She thought wistfully of her home and her people, with whom she had always enjoyed mutual adoration, much as Edward did. She even thought fondly of her parents, who, though they loved her deeply, never understood her and consistently underestimated her.

Queen Renee was always pleased with her achievements in music and art and other such pursuits fit for an educated young woman, but she was dismayed at Isabella's insatiable interest in governance, history, and other matters better suited to less delicate minds.

King Charles was merely bemused by her. He had accepted that the Lord had gifted him with a daughter and no sons and that he would have no one to whom he could pass his knowledge and experience. But as Isabella grew, she didn't seem to fit into any category. She was breathtakingly beautiful, cultured, and feminine to a fault, but she was also endlessly curious about things that only men should be concerned with. Unsure how to handle this strange phenomenon, he mostly avoided speaking to her of anything of depth and left her oddities for someone else to deal with.

When drought fell upon Arizia and the land slowly fell into destitution, King Charles did all he could to save his beloved nation. But as the starving masses started to die off, his last resort was to offer his most prized possession to his most hated rival. Isabella agreed, knowing the union would ensure that her subjects, if not her kingdom, would live on.

A tear slipped down Isabella's cheek as she recalled and reminisced. After that small concession to emotion, she then pulled herself together and rolled onto her side. Her last thoughts as she drifted off were of her husband. Tomorrow would dawn new battles, but tonight she had won her first victory on her most important front.

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**Let me know your thoughts, whether you loved it, hated it, have suggestions/advice for the future, or are annoyed by some aggravating grammatical error. I haven't had any questions yet, but I've anticipated a few below. If you have any more about the story or about my plans for it, feel free to ask.**

**How long will this story be? ****_I'm posting by the seat of my pants right now, so I can't say for sure. I don't plan on this being incredibly long – I'll just go until I feel like my characters get where they need to be. Hopefully I'll have a better idea soon._**

**Do you have a posting schedule? ****_Since I'm new to this, I don't want to commit to something and then get in over my head. I'm planning on roughly once a week with perhaps a bonus chapter thrown in when I have time. But no promises._**

**What era is this story set in? ****_This story is not set in any real time period. The places are fictional, so the customs may come from many places in various eras, or they may be ones that have never been practiced anywhere._**

**How long will Edward will be an idiot? ****_I don't tolerate a continuously idiotic Edward very well, so I won't inflict that on you. Remember, you've heard a lot of what Isabella thinks of Edward so far. But while she is very shrewd and intelligent, her judgment isn't infallible. Edward might just surprise her and us._**


	3. Meet the Royals

**Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites, and follows! This is a longer chapter, but Jasper surprised me with how talkative he got. Hope you enjoy, and I'll see you at the bottom. Nothing belongs to me, of course, and it's all unbeta'ed, so mistakes are mine!**

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The next morn, when the royal family gathered to break their fast, the Crown Prince was unusually quiet. His downturned countenance didn't escape anyone at the table, though nobody voiced the observation. Aside from this peculiarity, conversation flowed as normal, led by the queen while the rest (with the exception of Isabella) chimed in when appropriate. Isabella privately watched with her practiced distance and a keen eye.

Prince Emmett contributed little, as usual, but continuously had a smile on his face. Isabella had come to the conclusion over the months that his silence was not out of shyness or a subdued nature, but due to lack of insights that were appropriate to be voiced in mixed company. He seemed ever on the verge of saying something only to stop himself with a great grin. Isabella could only imagine what he was thinking.

His wife, Lady Rosalie of Rocheville, was of the opinion that her thoughts were the most astute and worthwhile of anybody's voiced, no matter the topic. Her vanity knew no bounds, and Isabella had no desire to make a comrade of her. Her reception toward Isabella had been similar to those of Edward's scorned lovers, with a jealous and malicious hatred. Isabella, having drawn the conclusion that she cared for nothing but herself and sometimes her husband, concluded that Rosalie imagined some slight against her person when Isabella arrived and stole the attention of the court. Whatever her faults, though, Isabella could easily see that Lady Rosalie shared a genuine and devoted affection with the king's second son.

In King Carlisle's third son, Prince Jasper, Isabella saw a kindred spirit. Not in that he had given her a warm welcome or initiated any conversation with her, but in that he distanced himself and shrewdly observed in much the same way that she did. She had never seen him with his guard down, even when only the family was in a room, but she supposed that had somewhat to do with the presence of a stranger in his family's inner circle. She imagined he would be a formidable opponent in a game of chess. And for all Isabella had deduced about him and their similar temperaments, she was sure he had drawn similar conclusions about her. And neither trusted the other.

Lady Alice of Bixenton, on the other hand, was as dissimilar from her husband as a gazelle from a fox. She seemed the most trusting and exuberant of all the people Isabella had encountered in the Englasian court so far. Isabella could see that Lady Alice held no real ill feelings toward her, but she wasn't exactly warm to her either. When ere she looked as though she might attempt a conversation with Isabella, somebody would send her a disapproving look and stop her. The innocence she displayed was refreshing in its childlikeness. Her abundant joy over the small matters and her failure to understand the reflexive bitterness with which her people regarded Arizians had endeared her to Isabella's heart, far more than any other in Englasia. When Prince Edward said she was reputed to be unaware guile exists, he might have been speaking of his youngest brother's wife.

If Lady Alice was a gazelle, Queen Esme was a lioness – loving toward those she considered family but setting herself up as a line of protection between them and all others. Thus, though she had not been openly hostile toward Isabella, she had not made any effort to bring her into the fold. She verbally challenged Isabella at every available occasion; the queen was clearly using these tests as mean to force her newest daughter-in-law to prove herself.

King Carlisle, the head of all those present, was a shrewd and fair leader to his people, and he continuously displayed the utmost courtesy (if not warmth) toward Isabella, even though she was the legacy of his greatest rival. Isabella had been raised to hate everything about him, but as she observed him with an objective eye, she saw his wise and just guidance to be the force behind Englasia's prosperity. His largest oversight was in failing to adequately pass those abilities on to his firstborn, the repercussions of which could be disastrous.

The morning meal ended pleasantly enough, and the royal family made their way to court, some to conduct actual business, others because an appearance was expected of them. Immediately upon entering, Isabella was confronted with the hateful gaze of Lady Tanya. She was among the (admittedly small) number who had tried to intimidate the princess upon her arrival. Now, she looked more like one of those scorned, and when she was not glaring at Isabella, she was glancing worriedly at the still-distracted prince. Isabella mused on this turn of events, wondering if her words had had a more immediate effect than anticipated.

Edward, for his part, was still embroiled in an internal battle. The court looked on with concerned yet indulgent eyes, fondly worrying for their beloved prince whose vices they blatantly ignored. He was not by anyone's estimation a bad person. But he had lived his life free of censure, which allowed his persistent immaturity to go unchecked. And since his self-gratifying actions suited him, and none among his friends and kin did anything to hasten his development, he felt no need for deeper self-reflection. But now, in the face of such condemnation from his wife, and unable to combat the truths laid out for him, he for the first time looked at his life and evaluated its merit. The results, especially when couched with frank words from an outsider such as Isabella, disturbed him.

When Princes Emmett and Jasper saw that their brother had no intention of coming out of the abyss to which he had condemned himself, they decided to take action in the matter. Edward was clearly not going to accomplish anything at court today other than worrying its members with his behavior, and his mental health seemed in danger should they not intervene. Hence, the three princes, the first upon the invitation of the others, left court and embarked on a private hunt.

The first several hours of the activity were spent enjoying the sport and collecting prizes. After the three had finally exhausted themselves, their horses, and their hawks, they (at the suggestion of Jasper) sat to rest in a large meadow by a stream.

"So, brother, I know you aren't always the most intuitive, but surely you don't believe this impromptu hunt was due only to an impulsive need for sport!" Jasper started good-naturedly. Edward's reaction startled him by its vehemence.

"Don't patronize me as though I am a child!" Edward snarled, jumping to his feet to loom over Jasper.

"I was merely speaking in jest, Edward. What taxes your mind so to make you sensitive to well-meaning taunts?" Jasper returned, realizing that getting Edward to open up would take a fraction of the anticipated effort.

"I have been called incompetent in enough ways by my wife without your adding to the pile," Edward snapped, starting to pace.

"She has spoken with you?" Emmett asked, surprised by this development. "You had said that she had been no more personable in private than in public."

"I demanded she talk to me alone after the feast last night, and she was very . . . forthcoming," Edward answered grumpily.

"Ah, and what has she said to vex the infallible prince so?" Emmett laughed, already enjoying where this conversation was leading.

"She mocked me openly; talked freely about my affairs; called me spoilt, indiscreet, lacking wisdom and leadership, having no skill, able to accomplish nothing, and altogether unworthy of her affections!" Edward raged.

There was a stunned silence stretching over several seconds before Prince Emmett burst into raucous laughter, startling some surrounding wildlife into action. Edward and Jasper looked at him in disbelief as he practically rolled among the flowers with humor. When he caught his voice enough to speak, he bellowed the least constructive comment possible at that particular moment in time. "She has you completely unriddled, then!"

"You agree with her!" Edward looked apoplectic at this point.

Jasper shot Emmett a look that clearly conveyed that he was no longer to voice his thoughts during this conversation, and Emmett nodded while trying to rein in his chortles.

"Perhaps she exaggerated somewhat, or you exaggerated with the retelling, but her accusations are not entirely without merit," Jasper ventured delicately.

"You—" Edward started, unsure what words could adequately describe the heinous betrayal that just escaped his brother's lips. Jasper spared him the effort of finding them by interrupting.

"Edward, if her words bother you so, clearly part of you believes at least some of her insights to be true," he said gently. "And if they weigh on your mind as they have, perhaps it is because you don't like that they are true. But if we are to sort out your thoughts and how to proceed, you best sit back down and stay calm. Railing against the world will never get you anywhere."

Edward looked for a moment as though he would argue, but then his shoulders slumped and he collapsed onto the ground dejectedly.

"I don't know why her words ring in my ears still," Edward sighed. "What an Arizian thinks of me should not concern me so."

"Why not?" Jasper asked, trying to allow Edward to prove his point for him.

"Because the Arizians are all scum!" Edward answered earnestly, clearly trying to restrain himself from yelling at his brother. "Nothing good has ever come from that pig heap!"

"And what evidence have you observed in the whole of your life to support that conclusion?" Jasper asked mildly.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, looking confused. "It's merely true."

"No, Edward, it's not," Jasper said seriously. "Our country has had severe tensions in the past with Arizia, it is true. And our father has indeed clashed with Lord Charles on many occasions. But that does not mean that the whole country is without worth. You are making judgments and decisions based on pure emotion, something I'm sure your wife has noticed. You dismiss the whole of the country as vile, but would our king have agreed to merge with a hopeless country?"

"Of course he would have accepted!" Edward exclaimed, surprised that Jasper would even consider another course. "The thorn that had resided in his side the whole of his life was giving up and proclaiming itself destitute with no chance of recovery without outside help! Why wouldn't he take that offer?"

"He did not take that offer to further humiliate Lord Charles!" Jasper said impatiently, frustrated that Edward was missing the point so grandiosely. "He has always respected Lord Charles as a competent and just leader, even if the two have had their differences. Lord Charles's swallowing his own pride to save his people was no small thing, and Father respects him all the more for it. Father accepted Arizia into our borders because it was what was best for our kingdom."

"How is it best for us to accept into our country a new region that is nothing more than a barren wasteland?" Edward asked, genuinely perplexed. "A wasteland, no less, into which we must needs pour countless resources to ensure its survival?"

Jasper sighed, trying to remain patient with his hot-headed and short-sighted brother. "Father accepted because he knows, as should you, that droughts don't last forever. Arizia, historically, has been abundant in good harvests and also in resources that we have limited or no access to in Englasia. Yes, right now we are sacrificing plenteous provisions to get Arizia through this hard time. But once the drought ends and Arizia is restored to its former profitability, we will have at our disposal many materials and metals and stones that we previously had to spend exorbitant amounts to procure."

Edward was silent for a moment, mulling over what Jasper had said. He decided that he'd need more than a few minutes to digest the idea that Arizia could actually be of any worth. He also noted that they were, in his mind, getting wildly off-topic. But before they returned to the topic at hand, his curiosity over a related topic needed to be sated.

"Fine," he said almost petulantly. "I suppose it did make some practical sense to extend our borders to Arizia. What I do not understand, though, is why Father agreed to give _Lord_ Charles a place among our nobility and leave him as governor over Arizia until his death. No other region has such a position, and giving governing power to a defeated rival, no matter how respected, shows weakness on Father's part."

Jasper's eyes flashed. "Do not speak of our father in such a way," he said dangerously. "Whatever you may think of his decisions, do not presume to judge them when you never bother to ask after their motivations from the source itself. The man has thrice the ruling capabilities in his right hand than you could ever dream of possessing in your entirety. And you wonder that an outsider thinks you lack leadership and wisdom." He finished his defense of his beloved father with a scoff.

Edward, having realized that he had crossed a near-treasonous line the moment the words left his mouth, did not argue. "Yes, you are right. I apologize for my words. I just don't understand."

"You would if you ever bothered to ask Father about such things," Jasper retorted. He knew for a fact that Edward wasn't ready for the crown and never would be should things not change. He placed the blame for the situation both on his father for not making an effort to pass on his considerable knowledge and wisdom and on Edward for not soliciting such tutelage from the king. "Are you aware that the Arizians feel very similarly about us as we do about them?"

"I suppose I assumed that to be the case, yes," Edward said slowly.

"And how well do you think they are taking to Englasian rule?" Jasper questioned.

"I imagine they resent it," Edward said carefully, clearly never have given the matter any previous thought.

"Quite so," Jasper answered. "And when a large group of people are joined with another large group with whom they share mutual hatred, the infighting and destruction has the potential to be great. And had Father tried to impose his will suddenly and forcefully upon the Arizians, strife and riots would have been the result. The transition is a hard one. That could not be avoided. But by ensuring that one of their own still has considerable voice in the way their land is ruled, Father has minimalized the fall-out. Not to mention having garnered the respect of the wisest among the Arizians with his judicious and gracious handling of the situation."

"But Lord Charles will not be around forever," Edward mused. Jasper was encouraged. This was the first time during the course of the conversation (and all previous conversations Jasper could remember) in which Edward had anticipated a problem and wondered at the solution.

"Yes, and his position will die with him," Jasper answered. "But by that time, his daughter, the favored Arizian princess, will be fully ingratiated into our court. You can be sure that, should Father still be living, she will have his ear with regards to her people. Should he not be, she will be queen and wield considerable power in her own right. She will be subject only to you."

"And you think me ill-prepared to take over the kingdom once Father is gone," Edward surmised.

"This discussion has done nothing but cement that idea more firmly in my mind, though it only introduced the notion to yours," Jasper answered carefully. "You rely on me for my strategic mind and my interest in the affairs of the kingdom. And while I appreciate the trust you place in me, blindly following the advice of others is not a way to rule. You should be able to make decisions on you own ground once you are on the throne. I will continue to offer council, but I will not allow you to become my puppet because you have no interest in ought but yourself. _You_ will be king, and _you_ will rule."

Edward looked stricken by Jasper's words but did not argue. Instead, he continued in a defeated manner, "So she was right about my lacking leadership skills, and she was partially right about the women. Though she seems to think I have scores of them at my beck and call at court and visit whore houses as a matter of course."

"She overestimates your virility," Emmett smirked, finally rejoining the conversation now that it was back in familiar waters. "Though four mistresses are nothing to shake one's head at, you've only visited a whore house once, and it was certainly not a pleasurable experience." His booming laugh followed his blunt statement.

Edward, in no mood to entertain such frivolity, grimaced at the memory. "She said, quote, 'Why would I want the eye of a boy who seeks to prove he is a man by bedding multitudes of willing women – something which requires no skill and achieves nothing?' I was furious at first. I wanted to point to all that I have achieved. The joust and the hunt came to mind of course, but those are mere sport. I wracked my brain to find more and came up empty. Have I truly accomplished nothing in my life but women and sport?"

Hi brothers remained silent, unsure how to respond. Privately, Jasper agreed completely with her assessment, but saying so would not help Edward. After allowing Edward a few moments of reflection, he answered. "You seem to have already answered that question for yourself," he ventured. "The question now is whether, after arriving at such a conclusion, you want to alter your course."

Edward sat in contemplation for a moment. "I don't know how," he finally said sadly, looking lost.

"You start paying attention to the kingdom around you," Jasper said immediately. "You discover what problems need attention and do something about them. You talk to Father about his decisions and give input when he asks. You seek to understand how and why he makes the choices he does, and you stop thinking of yourself as infallible. You show concern for more than where your next meal and your next release will be found."

Edward nodded. "I'm unsure what I am going to do," he said, "but I will take your words into account. As noble as that course sounds coming from your lips, I do enjoy the lifestyle I live now. I have much to think about."

"Yes you do," Jasper agreed. "And as you think, ask yourself if your current routine will be as agreeable going forward. Your newfound self-awareness may take the joy out of the pleasures you have always partaken of."

"And it's not as though you can't enjoy those pleasures while educating yourself at the same time," Emmett chimed in, trying to inject some realism into the conversation. While he agreed that Edward needed to know more about the kingdom and how to rule, he could not envision his being able to give up the mistresses for any length of time simply because he had a crisis of conscience. And he knew his brother well enough to know that deciding to give them up and then being unable to stick by that decision would decimate his resolve in other areas. In an effort to cheer him up, he added, "I adore Rosalie, and I know Jasper would never stray from Alice. and leave him to extend our borders to Arizia. What I do not understand, though, is why Father had But should you give up Tanya, Irina, Kathryn, and Lauren, we would no longer be able to live out our wild streak vicariously through you!"

Edward smiled half-heartedly, but he did not seem as amused as Emmett hoped. Jasper, seeing the defeated and self-loathing expression on his face, knew he had had enough for the day. Hating to see his brother so entirely downtrodden, he sought to bolster him somewhat.

"For what it's worth, brother," Jasper said meaningfully, clapping him on the back, "I am impressed by the self-evaluation your wife's words have sparked. I am ashamed to admit that, though I have had such thoughts many times throughout the years, I've never voiced them because I was convinced that you were too stubborn and arrogant to consider reform. I apologize for my assumptions and am incredibly glad to have been proven wrong. Though the criticism came from another, I am ever so proud that you were willing to take it seriously and consider altering your course."

Edward smiled a much more genuine smile this time and answered with a simple, "Thank you, brother."

"And now that we've exhausted the topic of your actions, let's move on to your wife!" Jasper exclaimed suddenly. Emmett grinned while Edward rolled his eyes. "I admit that I expected a princess much like Alice. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but Alice would be eaten alive in a foreign and hostile court. Your wife is more intelligent and crafty than a fox and, from what you've just told us, completely capable of taking on the troubles that have plagued her and will continue to plague her in Englasia. I don't trust her by any means, but I can't help liking her and respecting her."

"She said that she was fighting a social and relational war with no allies and countless handicaps," Edward explained with a small smile. Now that he had some distance and was looking partially through his brother's eyes, he found his wife's courage and candidness rather impressive. "She said that I won that war by being born while she needs to win by superior cunning."

"And she is correct on all accounts," Jasper agreed. "And from what I've observed, she's been doing a fine job so far. She came from a similar position that you are in, Edward. She was loved blindly by all her people the whole of her life. But, to be frank, were you similarly uprooted from here and replanted in an antagonistic court, you would not fair half as well as she has."

Edward stayed silent, feeling resentful that Jasper was probably right. Earning Jasper's respect was not a small thing, and he was not sure even he himself had achieved it. He knew he had Jasper's love and loyalty, but sometimes he questioned whether Jasper respected him. His wife had earned that right from Jasper in three months and in one night had completely shattered Edward's view of his own life. He was unsure how to proceed with her, but he knew he wanted to mature both as a man and as a ruler. And based on how much she seemed to see and how honestly she seemed to speak, perhaps he could ask her to air her thoughts on these matters.

But one thing was sure: she would not hold any power over him. He would solicit her thoughts and perhaps he would agree with some, but her emotions and livelihood would not be part of his final decisions. As Jasper said, he would make decisions on his own ground; she would not factor in. After all, she was an Arizian.

* * *

**Let me know your thoughts, suggestions, grievances, or questions.**

**I fear I just made a liar out of MsCullenIsMe, who praised me for not rushing into anything. But as I told you last chapter, I don't tolerate idiotic Edwards very well, so he takes huge steps in this chapter that some may think premature. I'm sorry if that is the case, and I tried to somewhat explain the phenomenon in the chapter. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts or answer any questions about it.**

**I was originally going to try to answer every review, but I've discovered that that takes up much of the time I could be dedicating to writing. So, though I read and appreciate greatly every review, I will only be answering those who ask direct questions. If I get the same question more than once, I'll answer those authors but also answer it in the next chapter's A/N. Hopefully this keeps everyone happy while not detracting from the story itself.**

**Thanks! See you again soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	4. In the Absence of Diplomacy

**Thank you to those of you still with me for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing. They all make my day. Hope you enjoy this next installment – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

In the week following the hunt, Edward avoided entirely all women not married to his father or to his brothers. He had realized that speaking with Isabella while still unsure of his own mind would be unproductive at best and incendiary at worst. He also had decided that he wanted to make a decision regarding his other women with his mind unclouded by their nightly influence. And though he had been making a concerted effort to appear as usual before the nobles, his actions and his attitude had brought about much consternation among them.

All had noticed his strange behavior – his less frequent laughter and his less easy smiles. And none were more concerned about the changes they saw in him than his favored ladies: Lady Tanya, Lady Kathryn, Lady Irina, and Lady Lauren. Before Isabella's arrival in court, each had hidden deep hatred for the others behind bright smiles and cheery greetings. Each wished to be the prince's only bedmate and resented the others for stealing some of his attention. The arrival of a wife for their beloved had provided a common enemy, turning the four into unlikely allies. As it became clear that the prince had no intention of abandoning them in favor of his bride, they became distant from one another once again, not friendly still, but no longer enemies.

But now, with the prince declining all of their attentions for a full week, and, indeed, ordering them to leave him be until he approached them, they grew worried once again. The uneasy truce they had entered into three months ago was back in full effect as they whispered and speculated behind their hands to one another. He was paying no more attention to his wife than previously, so surely she wasn't the cause. But what then had driven him from their sides? So far, they had all decided to merely wait for the prince's spell to pass. But as the days continued to pass, they all began to get restless. They could not allow the situation to escalate much further without answers to their questions, or they risked losing him altogether.

The whole of the court had noticed the prince's four widely-acknowledged mistresses conversing in hushed tones over the week. All had come to a similar conclusion: the prince's strange mood had extended to his bedroom practices. And the worry in the ladies' eyes as they looked upon the prince left little doubt in their minds that the ill humor he seemed to be in had prompted him to leave their sides for a time.

Isabella, whose chambers he had not graced at night either, had reached a similar conclusion, but she was puzzled by it. One conversation was not enough to change a man's mind about anything, particularly an entirely gratifying lifestyle. She had months of groundwork still to lay before she had planned on seeing any real change, but his recent behavior was an unanticipated complication. She did not like feeling unsure of his actions and motivations, for she considered herself a judge of character of the highest order.

It was these thoughts that plagued her as she sat one morn in her private parlor painting the sunset over the lake outside her childhood bedroom window. She started in surprise coupled with confusion when a confident knock sounded; this was the first time someone had sought her out when there were no functions she was expected to attend.

"Enter!" she called with a small frown. It only deepened with further confusion when Sir Benjamin, one of the prince's personal groomsmen and good friends, walked through her door.

He bowed low before rising and speaking. "My Lady," he began before holding out a sealed piece of parchment, "my lord wishes you read this and send your response with me forthwith."

She hesitantly took the parchment from his hand and broke the seal before beginning to read.

_To my wife, Lady Isabella:_

_It would be my greatest honor if you would agree to meet with me for a private luncheon in my personal sitting room at noontide. My hope is that we can discuss in greater detail some of those things we touched upon a week hence, frankly and without heat. I would very much like for us two to put aside diplomacy for a time and to speak plainly and honestly with one another, the better to understand one another. Kindly return you reply with my trusted groomsman, Sir Benjamin. I look forward to speaking with you soon and wish you well until then._

_Regards,_

_Your husband, Prince Edward_

Isabella stared at the parchment, trying to digest what she was reading. It was mostly formal, as invitations required, but he had forgone the long, laborious titles they both carried in favor of simpler but more familiar references. He had been perfectly polite; she could not find a hint of irony, mockery, or insincerity in the words he chose.

This was certainly unexpected. Either his sudden desire to speak openly with her about their previous discussion (which, admittedly, consisted mostly of her censuring his character) was disingenuous, or she had grievously miscalculated his reaction to her words. While she supposed such a miscalculation would be a pleasant surprise and optimistic for the future, she didn't like being wrong. The touch of regal arrogance she possessed would not allow her to concede such a misjudgment without seeing it with her own two eyes.

"My Lady?" Benjamin ventured cautiously. Her highness had been staring at the parchment for several minutes now without moving, her face completely unreadable. She had begun to worry him, to the point that he began scrutinizing the nearby tables in search of something with which to revive her.

"Oh, my apologies for keeping you waiting, Benjamin," Isabella said, pulling herself together and looking up. "You may tell his highness that I would be delighted to join him thusly."

"Very good, your highness," Benjamin said, bowing once again. "I shall relay the message posthaste." With that, he left Isabella alone in her rooms with an unfinished painting and an uncertain mind.

* * *

And hour and a half later found Isabella, composed and collected exterior firmly in place, outside the crown prince's chambers. On either side of the door were Sir Benjamin and Sir James, another of Edward's groomsmen. Benjamin knocked on the door to the prince's personal sitting room and announced her. A muffled "See her in!" came in reply.

Isabella followed Benjamin into the spacious room, looking at her husband's chambers for the first time. It was large and lavish, exactly as she expected. It comforted her to know that at least some of her instincts were holding true today. Edward stood as she entered and offered her his arm before leading her to a large, plush couch. A matching couch was situated across from hers with a low table in between. Once he had taken a seat on the second couch, he began to speak.

"My Lady, you look radiant today," the prince said, enacting common pleasantries that he had previously forgone with his wife. He hoped they would soften her for this talk. Isabella surmised as much, but she was still surprised by such courtesy.

"Thank you, my lord," she responded graciously. "Your invitation was a rather pleasant surprise. I thank you for asking me to join you."

"I have done much thinking recently, and I thought a chance for both of us to air our thoughts without craftiness or unnecessary politics would serve us both well going forward," he answered astutely.

"Quite so," Isabella agreed pleasantly, "though I think such discussions should always be had after one's mouth is no longer busy with eating and one's stomach has been made heavy with food. Shall we eat before we delve deeper into one another's minds?"

"Of course," he answered. He motioned for the food to be brought, and the two made their way through the small 3-course meal with nothing more meaningful than pleasantries. Edward noted that her accent, which he had previously written off because of its Arizian origins, was actually quite a pleasing sound. Isabella noted that he was truly trying to be courteous and solicit her thoughts, even on mundane matters.

Once both had eaten their fill, Edward rang for the plates and platters to be cleared before leaning back into the couch. Isabella stayed straight, both because it was more ladylike and because she was still somewhat on the defensive.

"So, Prince Edward, what matters would you like to discuss today?" she started the conversation.

Edward sighed as he prepared himself for the discussion. "I'm sure you know that I did not enjoy our previous conversation, both because you continuously slighted me and because some of them rang too true in my ears," he started. "I've never been confronted so plainly and so honestly, and I had never thought ill of myself. Having never been reprimanded for my actions, I had believed myself above reproach. Clearly, that was not the case; people had merely been internalizing their reproaches rather than voicing them."

"Surely you did not arrive at these conclusions by my words alone," Isabella mused aloud.

"No, I spoke with my brothers the next day, and they affirmed much of what you had said," Edward admitted.

"Ah, the impromptu hunt," she said with a small smirk. "The whole of the court was buzzing with your abrupt departure. I hope the three of you weren't trying to be discreet."

"There's that word again," Edward muttered ruefully.

"Well what did your brothers have to say about your unruly wife's opinions?" Isabella asked, openly smiling now. She cared not what they thought of her, at least not at this point, a fact that Edward gathered rather easily. He had already discovered that by merely paying attention to the goings-on about him, he could decipher much better the thoughts of others.

"Jasper did the majority of the conversing, but his largest point was that I would be a poor leader were I to take the throne right now," Edward said with a small frown. "We spoke at length about the merging of our two countries and why the king chose to handle it as he did. I admit that I understood little of his decision-making, and Jasper pointed out how judicious he had been in the matter and how petty I had been in my own thinking on it."

"Yes, my kin are temporarily in a strange limbo – Arizia is owned by Englasia but not yet part of Englasia proper while my father lives, and my people are still ruled by their beloved king, though he is no longer a king and answers to another. Yet despite all this confusion, still I could not think of a better way to transition them than your father's course," Isabella nodded.

"Jasper and you are of the same mind, then," Edward grumbled. "Conversing with him brought to my attention how unadvisable my decisions would be in the same situation. Therefore, I have decided to educate myself in practical governance to the greatest extent possible by soliciting my father's wisdom and engaging with my people."

"I am glad to hear it," said Isabella smoothly. Internally, she was reeling at the too-fast and completely out-of-order changes Edward was making. Not only was she upset that she had been off in her predictions, but her pride had also been hurt that she was not the sole impetus for those changes. The rational part of her, though, the side battling for the favor of a whole nation, was thrilled that he was implementing such measures already. "I am unsure, though, why you brought me here to tell me that. You need not outside council on the matter, it seems."

Edward nodded. "Yes, those decisions have been made. I merely sought to inform you of them. I was hoping to procure your thoughts on the rather more delicate matter we discussed in more detail last week," he explained, trying to circumvent using the actual words.

"You mean the other women you bed," Isabella finished bluntly. When Edward looked uncomfortable, she continued. "Come now, sire. You promised me a frank conversation without diplomacy. How can that be achieved if we do not say what we mean? I promise my sensibilities will not be damaged by candor from you."

"Very well," Edward conceded. He continued with a stern expression. "Firstly I would like to clarify that your estimation of the number of my trysts is grossly exaggerated. I have only four mistresses, not scores of them stashed about court. And I've never entertained a whore in my life."

"But surely you must admit that in the past you've bedded many more in court than four?" Isabella asked incredulously. "And I know for a fact that you have indeed visited a whore house at least once."

"I'll admit to other dalliances in court before, but the number of ladies I've bedded rises not above ten," Edward insisted. "And yes, I've visited a whore house once. I was unaware the news of that visit had spread, else I would have set the record straight sooner. I was not there for pleasure."

"I cannot imagine another reason for such a visit," Isabella pressed, genuinely curious now.

Edward squirmed a bit, and heat rose to his cheeks before Isabella's disbelieving eyes. "It was actually rather mundane a reason," he said uncomfortably. "I was riding about the countryside alone when my horse slipped its shoe and refused to go onward with me on its back. I walked it to the nearest establishment, hoping to find someplace with a stable hand able to fix him up for a price. The establishment happened to be a house of ill repute. It was insisted that I wait in the house for the repairs to be completed in the stables. It was the most horrifying hour of my life. Everywhere I looked . . . and the smell . . . it was . . ."

Edward trailed off with a shudder, unable to continue. Isabella held in giggles at his expression and could do naught but believe him. When Edward looked up, he saw the amused twinkle in her eye and the slight upturn of her lips and wondered at them. It was the first time he'd seen her wear any emotion, and the sight was as pleasing as her accent. He shook his head of such thoughts and brought the conversation around to its purpose.

"Now that's cleared up, I'd like to know your thoughts on infidelity," he said confidently.

"In general or specifically yours?" Isabella asked mildly, schooling her expression once again.

"Both, I suppose," Edward said, less certain now.

Isabella nodded. "I am morally opposed to adultery in all forms and in all situations," she started. "On the basis of God's law and my own conscience, I would never practice or condone it. But I also have a logical and practical reason to shun it.

"There are few promises one makes in a lifetime as public as one's marriage vows. A man and a woman pledge before God and witnesses that they will, among other things, share their bodies with no others. For those like you and I, such events are witnessed by entire nations. I fail to see how anybody could trust the word of one who is incapable of keeping such a simple yet openly-made vow. If one is unable to fulfill such a promise, how can others trust him to keep lesser promises? And what do we have if we have not our people's trust?" she finished firmly.

Edward thought for a few moments after she had stopped speaking. Not ready to comment immediately on her words, he prompted her further. "Those are your views on infidelity in general. What about mine in particular?" he asked. He was hoping that she had some sort of emotional reaction to it. He truly feared that any woman who was so cold as to have no feelings about such a matter could not be human.

"Well, when I think of the many women you have bedded, whose numbers I admit are significantly fewer than I estimated," she placated when she saw the prince about to object, "I worry over my own health and safety as well as yours. Surely you are aware of the dangers that coupling with multiple people can bring. Diseases run rampant through the less inhibited among us, and you certainly fall into that category.

"I also think of the possibility of your fathering children out of wedlock and the many complications that would bring about," she continued. "I'd never condone the killing of an innocent babe to prevent its birth, but should one of your mistresses conceive before me, particularly if the babe is a lad, the future of my own legitimate children will be wrought with turmoil, as others of your seed would challenge them for the throne. And as those illegitimate children grow, your father would not allow you to acknowledge them. No child should be shunned by its father, no matter the manner of conception."

Edward grew more frustrated the more she talked. All the concerns she raised were legitimate, yet they spoke not to her feelings, only to practicalities. He decided to reassure her before coaxing more out of her. "You should know that there are . . . ways a man can protect himself from such diseases and from fathering illegitimate children," he said awkwardly. He expanded a little more but went not into much detail. "The leaves of the condiart tree, sown certain ways and applied during the act, prevent both from occurring. You are the only one with whom I have coupled without using such preventative methods."

Isabella nodded. "That is comforting to know," she nodded. "Though I imagine such methods are not infallible, at least I know you are doing your utmost to protect us."

Edward decided to try to get more of a reaction out of her. "You have enumerated a number of excellent observations and concerns, but said nothing of your feelings and emotions regarding me and my mistresses," he said gently.

Isabella smirked and cocked her head a tiny bit. "You wish me to admit a deep need for your affection and that I pine away at night for you while I soak my pillow in tears at your absence," she said, still smirking. "You wish me to show dependency on and vulnerability toward you that your pride might be bolstered. I am afraid that none of that applies to me in the slightest. I spoke truth when I said your character precludes any desire I might have had for your attentions." She left unsaid but implied that should he change his ways, she might welcome such attentions.

"Even so, only a soulless demon would have absolutely no feelings on the matter at all," Edward persisted.

"Overlooking for the moment that charming comparison, I admit that emotion is part of life, and I do have emotions in all matters, including this one," she said, yet still smirking. "They are simply not the ones you would expect from a scorned wife."

"You talk of frankness and openness, yet you speak in riddles," Edward pointed out. "Will you not tell me plainly what your feelings are?"

"As long as the conversation stayed practical, my words could only be used for practical purposes," Isabella said pointedly. "But my private thoughts and feelings have no use to any other than me, except to be used against me. You cannot expect me to show my hand to you without something in return. If you wish to know my private emotions that have no practical application, you must offer me something as well."

"What is your desire?" Edward asked warily.

"How do _you_ feel about your mistresses?" Isabella asked curiously.

"I'm unsure what you mean," Edward said slowly. "They are all comely, and I enjoy their buxom frames and goodly countenances."

"But what seemly attributes beyond physical appeal do they possess?" she inquired. "I am aware enough of my person to know that I possess such comeliness, so why go to them?"

"I have no need of any other attributes from them, and, indeed, they possess nothing else in their character or intellect that I find desirable. I merely enjoy the release they provide," he said simply.

"You could not get such releases from one person?" she probed.

"You do not exactly provide me with much excitement in the bedchamber," he said frankly.

"You do not invite or welcome much excitement from me," she retorted. "You enter my bedchambers with the mindset of one who needs to perform a task for duty's sake. It does not set an atmosphere which encourages an adventurous or bold encounter. You expect me to be cold as a fish, so that is what I mimic. Any other course would only create an embarrassing and awkward situation for us both."

"You've made your point," Edward said, trying to steer the conversation aware from these waters. It was not seemly for a husband and wife to talk openly of the intimate act. That was for the mistresses. Though perhaps that was what she was trying to convey: that which he did with his mistresses could also be accomplished with his wife if he would allow it, a situation which would facilitate monogamy without misery. "I want _your_ feelings now on my mistresses."

"I fear you will be disappointed," she said with a sigh. "I suppose my feelings are more resigned than anything else. Long before I even knew whom I would one day marry, I was as sure that my future husband would be unfaithful to me as I was about anything. When I discovered I was to marry you, the rakish, beloved, and wholly unchecked Englasian crown prince, that conviction tripled in intensity. Though I would have welcomed your rising above those expectations and proving your worth to be greater than I initially estimated, the reality was not an unpleasant discovery, as I always get much satisfaction from being right."

* * *

Some time later, Edward still pondered her words. He felt an uncomfortable trickle of something akin to shame in his spine when he realized the low expectations she had set for him. The uncomfortable feeling spread and settled in his stomach when he reflected that, rather than defying those expectations with his noble character, he had instead affirmed her every shameful presupposition in its entirety.

He was broken from his thoughts by an urgent pounding on the door.

"Sire!" James called frantically. "Sire, you are needed in the throne room immediately!"

Edward jumped to his feet and strode swiftly out the door, continuing on toward the main wing of the castle without breaking stride. James fell into step beside him while Benjamin trailed the two.

"What has happened?" Edward asked, his brows furrowed.

"It is Lady Isabella, sire," James said hesitantly.

Edward's eyes flew to his groomsman's. "What of her?" he demanded.

"Some rather damning evidence appears to have been found in her chambers, my lord," James said apologetically. "I'm sorry, sire, but she has just been brought before the king and queen on charges of treason."

* * *

**So, first cliffie. Hopefully I won't make you all wait too long for the next chapter. :) Let me know your thoughts, suggestions, grievances, or questions.**

**I hope the bit about Arizia not yet being part of the actual nation of Englasia made sense. I think of it as similar to Puerto Rico's relationship with the United States, though I didn't think "commonwealth" in its modern political sense would fit with the language I've been using.**

**Thanks! See you again soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	5. Trials and Tribulations

**Thank you to the many who are reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing.**

**Many of you think that this kind of controversy was premature, but I do have my reasons – hopefully you'll understand by the end of this chapter. If you still disagree with my decision, feel free to let me know.**

**And most of you were ****_partially_**** right about how the problem came about, but I hope there are at least some surprises. Enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

Edward strode toward the throne room, furious yet unsure at whom he should direct the emotion. He knew _something_ had been done today for which _someone_ would die, but he was still unsure what and who exactly. Sir James had not many details to provide, but from what Edward had already been told, he knew one of two things had happened. Either Isabella had done something unforgivable, or one of his subjects had done so. She was not a welcome or popular princess in Englasia. Indeed, some fostered a deep-seeded hatred of her; it was not hard to imagine one of them planting evidence against her.

When he entered the throne room, pandemonium was the theme everywhere he looked. What appeared to be the whole of the court had assembled, joined by a few peasants who were already in the throne room presenting petitions to the king. In one voice they hurled insults and Arizian slurs at the lone figure in the center of the room, clearly having already been convinced of her guilt by her heritage alone. Only two islands of calm could be found: the accused, situated in the center of a makeshift circle of Englasians, and the dais at the far end of the room which held the royal family. The king and queen were seated calmly in their respective thrones, while his brothers and their wives stood to their sides. They all had serious looks on their faces, except for Jasper, who looked unaccountably amused. Of all those in his family, Jasper was the last he'd expect to find merriment in such a development.

For his wife's part, she looked not a jot ashamed or fearful, smug or victorious. In fact, she displayed none of the expressions a caught traitor might wear. She merely looked thoroughly exasperated, ready to roll her eyes and throw her hands up at the ridiculousness of it all. Edward's lips twitched at the mental image before he remembered why she was standing alone in the center of the throne room in the first place.

Many eyes followed the crown prince, for whom they were waiting, as he made his way to the platform and took his place standing at his father's left hand. Now that he was closer, he saw the deep worry etched into his father's face and the barely-contained tension emanating from his mother. He worried that if his wife was found guilty of betraying his family, his mother would want to perform the execution herself. Indeed, if his wife had betrayed him, Edward would do the honors.

"Why were you so long in coming, son?" the king said quietly to his heir.

"I came as soon as I was informed, father," Edward responded in a similar tone. "I had decided to spend my afternoon in my chambers rather than among the court. It appears that by the time the message arrived there, much had already taken place."

"Yes, the matter started near her chambers and spread quickly from there to the main wing," the king sighed. "Since you ensured that her living quarters were as far from yours as could be managed, I supposed you heard not the commotion."

"What is she accused of?" Edward asked, ignoring the subtle reprimand. A week ago, he would have taken such a comment at face value, but now that he was studying his father more closely, he heard the slight tone of disappointment.

"One of her handmaidens found a letter in her private parlor as she was cleaning," King Carlisle said wearily. "It was addressed to the leader of the Arizian rebel groups who have been threatening an uprising. It gave explicit details about the castle, members of court, our schedule, and our family. It also promised more information as more was gathered." He carefully avoided saying that _Isabella_ had said any of those things, merely citing what was in the letter.

Edward did not know Isabella well, but he could not imagine something like this from her. There could be no motivation; she was too logical to believe that her people could survive without Englasia's help, even if they could become autonomous once again through uprisings, another impossibility. Whatever she thought of Englasia, Edward truly believed that all she did was for the good of her people. And in any event, even if she had attempted such an ill-conceived thing, he knew full well that she was intelligent enough not to get caught in such a clumsy way.

"Are you ready, my lady?" the king asked the queen softly.

"I am ready, my lord," replied his wife tersely. "And woe be to her should the accusations prove true."

"Yes, and woe be to the perpetrator should they prove false," King Carlisle answered firmly. The queen recognized it as more than an idle comment. It was a reminder to her to wait until all the facts were laid bare before passing judgment.

The king raised his hand, and the shouting quickly died out. "Lady Isabella," he called clearly and with authority, "you stand accused of high treason by means of supplying pertinent information to and otherwise aiding those seeking to overthrow the crown. How do you plead?"

"I have done nothing of the sort, your majesty," Isabella said clearly and confidently.

The yells and insults began again with renewed vigor. Isabella's gaze did not waver from that of the king, who broke her stare to yell above the din. "Silence!" he called, his patience clearly being tried. The resulting stillness was deadening. "Not a one of you will utter another word unless expressly directed to do so by myself or your queen. Need I remind you that, until such a time as she has been convicted of a crime, Lady Isabella is still your sovereign?"

No one dared respond, and he gazed around the room for a moment longer before speaking once again. "Very well. I ask the witness, the maid Angela, to step forward and give testimony."

One of those who helped Isabella dress every morning and every night stepped out of the circle surrounding her lady on shaking legs. She clumsily curtsied as low as she could, clearly terrified of the situation in which she'd found herself. "You may rise. What happened today while you were cleaning the princess's parlor, Angela?" the king asked kindly, hoping to ease her mind somewhat.

Angela did not raise her eyes to him as she answered. "I was dusting one of the side tables in the room when I saw the parchment, your majesty," she started, her voice quivering. "I was not snooping, my lord, truly I was not! But when I lifted it to dust beneath it, I saw it was addressed to one named Aro. I've heard the name now and again in recent months, and I knew he was considered an enemy, though that was the extent of my knowledge. I confess curiosity compelled me to continue, and I read the horrid things that had been written therein! I knew not what to do, so I ran out of the room in panic. The first person I saw was Lady Lauren," – Edward started at the name – "and she asked what ailed me so. I showed her what I had found, and after reading it, she raised the alarm. That was the extent of my involvement, sire." Her voice had grown much more confident throughout her speech, but the last sentence was said with obvious relief.

It did not escape the king that one of his son's mistresses happened to be nearby when the letter was recovered, but he wanted to give Isabella a chance to defend herself before the court and perhaps bring up that very point. Therefore, he turned back to his eldest's wife. "What have you to say in response, my lady?"

Isabella drew herself up to her full height, not intimidated at all as she started her own defense, "I would point to the fact that the letter is in another's hand," Isabella said loudly and clearly, "but I fear no one present has ever read anything in my hand. And were I to write anything now, it would be seen as an attempt to deliberately skew its appearance. Therefore, I look to other evidence.

"Whatever present company believes of me, none have ever called me foolish. And only a criminal of less intellect than a gnat would leave such obvious proof of a treasonous conspiracy lying about on a parlor room table of all things. It was placed very deliberately where it was sure to have been seen, and certainly not by me.

"Furthermore, I have no reason assist those in Arizia who refuse Englasian rule. I agreed wholeheartedly with my father that seeking a merger with Englasia was the only available course of action for us. Why would I then help those trying to undo what my father and I achieved with this union?"

"Yes, your father was the one to initiate negotiations between our countries," the queen spoke for the first time during the interrogation. "The drought may have simply provided a perfect cover through which to play on our sympathies and infiltrate our ruling powers. Does Arizian hatred for our nation run so deep that its royals would exploit such a tragedy in order to topple us?"

"Majesty, only a ruler entirely devoid of compassion would turn attention from the great and terrible suffering of a nation's people in favor of a personal agenda," Isabella said immediately. "And only a foolish one would start a war in a time of drought and expect said nation to even survive, much less thrive. Neither my father nor I fit either description. We are both blameless in this."

Edward touched his father's arm, an action unseen by all but those family members closest to him. He was silently communicating that he desired to speak but dared not disobey the king's previous edict.

"What say you, Prince Edward?" the king asked, as though the idea of Edward's entering the conversation had originated with him. "You know the princess better than most, I'd wager."

"Sire, though I have no proof to validate my thoughts, I do not believe my wife guilty of that which has been laid to her charge," Edward's voice rang out. "She makes a compelling case for her innocence, and based on what I know of her character and her intellect, she could not have been the architect of this rather crude and inept undertaking."

As he spoke, he partially addressed the watching crowd. He noticed as he did so three figures standing together with matching expressions of unmitigated disbelief. Lady Tanya, Lady Irina, and Lady Kathryn were all gazing upon the scene as though they could not believe their eyes. Whether it was his words or the entire situation that had shocked them, Edward knew not.

"Thank you for your insight, Prince Edward," the king broke him from his brief contemplation. "But, as you pointed out, you have no proof. Lady Isabella, do you have any witnesses you would like to call?"

For the first time, Isabella hesitated, unsure how she could prove with certainty that she had not been the responsible party. Before she could choose her next words, a movement from near the dais drew the attention of all those in the room.

Sir Benjamin said not a word, constrained still by the king's order, but by stepping forward from the throng, he had made his desire to do so perfectly clear. A man greatly trusted by both the king and the crown prince, his words could hold considerable sway. The king regarded him for a moment before nodding. "Do you have something you wish to offer, Sir Benjamin?" he asked mildly.

"Yes, your majesty," Benjamin said immediately. "If you would permit, though, may I ask the previous witness a question before I give testimony?"

"As you will," the king agreed. "Angela, would you please step forward once more?"

Angela did as she was asked, significantly calmer than before. Benjamin narrowed his eyes in concentration as he put to her his question: "On which table exactly did you find the letter?"

Angela looked confused as she answered. "It was the side table to the left of her favored couch in the room," she said slowly. "The one from which she has been painting for the last several days."

Benjamin nodded, and Angela slipped back into the crowd. "Sire, I was in Lady Isabella's parlor this morn shortly after you all broke your fast," he said, his voice never wavering or showing uncertainty as he continued. "I delivered a message from Prince Edward to her right as the clock struck half after ten, and I know for a fact that no such letter rested on that table at that time. If the princess can account for her actions between now and then, I believe she can prove she was not the one to write it."

"How are you certain that the letter was not present with you?" the king asked, knowing that this was the foundation upon which Benjamin's testimony rested.

"While I was in her chambers, the princess seemed to become unaware of her surroundings for a time," Benjamin explained. "For a brief moment, I worried for her health and began searching the nearby tables for something to aid her should she be ill. Of course, when I called her, she responded immediately, and it became apparent that the spell was brought on by nothing more sinister than depth of thought. But that is why I am sure of the contents of the table."

"Lady Isabella, can you verify by witnesses your whereabouts from the time Sir Benjamin left your chambers?" the king asked her directly.

"I believe I can, my lord," Isabella smiled in victory. "After he exited my chambers, I called immediately for my handmaiden Breanne to assist me in dressing appropriately for a luncheon with the prince. She arrived in my chambers not a minute after Benjamin left. I cannot account for that period, but it was certainly not long enough to write the rather laborious letter found in my parlor."

"Can Breanne verify that she was called at the specified time?" King Carlisle called to the room at large.

"Yes, your majesty," came a small voice from his left. "I was called to her side shortly after the clock struck half after ten. I helped her dress and then took a stroll about the gardens with her at her request. I was with her until noontide, when we parted ways."

So continued the conversation in a cyclical manner: the king asked where she was during a certain time, she explained her whereabouts, witnesses were questioned, and the king asked where she went next. All her movements were accounted her: lunch with the prince followed by a gown fitting for an upcoming ball and then afternoon tea with the queen and Ladies Alice and Rosalie. She was with them when the accusations were brought forth.

After a complete account of her movements had been made, the king looked at his wife. Her eyes had softened as she looked upon the accused young woman, bravely and proudly standing tall in the face of such absolute condemnation from all those around her. Her decisive and unfaltering handling of the situation along with her innocence in the matter, clear to all by this point, had earned her the smallest bit of the queen's respect and trust, not an easy thing by any standard. Without looking at him, Queen Esme gave her beloved husband a tiny nod.

"Having reviewed all facets of the matter, I think it clear that Lady Isabella has committed no treason this day," King Carlisle announced loudly. "It is equally clear, however, that someone has indeed committed treason by attempting to slander and endanger with false words and actions a member of the royal family. The penalty for which crime is death. As Lady Isabella is the wronged party, I now give her leave to accuse whom she will in the matter."

"My lord, I could not produce evidence to substantiate any claims I would make regarding the one responsible," Isabella started with an almost casual air. "But I do find myself wondering what Lady Lauren was doing in the wing of the castle in which my chambers are situated. The rest of the court was either in the main wing or outdoors, and nothing that she should be concerned with resides in any other area of the castle than those two."

Carlisle nodded. He would have brought her forward for questioning regardless but found some satisfaction in hearing Isabella point her proverbial finger at the tart. "Lady Lauren," he said, now with ice in his voice. "Would you please step forward? Lady Isabella, kindly take your place by your husband. You have no more need to answer questions."

Isabella immediately moved to ascend the dais, and Edward moved to assist her. In that brief instant, they shared a look of mutually-understood fury at the crime that had been committed against her. It was the first time they had formed a united front on any issue, the first time that they had a common enemy to deal with together.

Lady Lauren stepped from the circle, looking cornered and terrified. Beads of sweat trickled down her face as her eyes darted to and fro, as though searching for an escape route. Edward noted ruefully that _that _was an expression a caught traitor might wear.

The sense of betrayal Edward felt was great. Though the questioning had yet to begin, he was convinced of her guilt. While he did not particularly like Lauren and knew her to have less in her head than any other human he had ever encountered, he would have never thought her capable of such a thing. It made him wonder how many others close to him were capable of such things, since clearly he was no judge of character.

"Lady Lauren," the king began, "you stand accused of high treason by means of the willful slander and endangerment of a member of the royal family by false accusation. How do you plead?"

The words were barely out of his mouth before she started gesturing wildly and shrieking hysterically, "She brought it on herself! She can't have him! I wouldn't let her! I thought if she was killed for treason then everything could go back to normal!"

The king sensed that she was beyond reason entirely and forewent trying to force her to speak rationally. "I take your utterings as a confession and declare you guilty of high treason. Do any here object to this ruling as premature?" he called. Such was the practice when the accused lacked the mental stamina to withstand questioning. Any member of court could step forward in her defense at that point if they thought there was a possibility of her innocence. In such a case, further investigation was made until all were satisfied. But no one in the room doubted her guilt after such exclamations, and none stepped forward on her behalf.

"Very well," the king nodded. "Take her to the dungeons to await her execution."

"NO!" Lauren shrieked louder still, even as the guards grabbed her arms and started leading her away. "Edward! Edward, tell them to let me go! Tell them they can't kill me! You love me!"

She continued such deluded cries until she was out of earshot. The stillness she left in her wake was stifling in comparison. The courtiers knew not how to react to such a mad and wanton display, while the crown prince shifted awkwardly, that uncomfortable feeling back in his stomach. Had Lauren truly believed he cared for her? He never indicated that he did, but neither had he discouraged her obvious affection. He was not so troubled as to think that Lauren was not responsible for her actions today, but he also knew that she did so under the false impressions he had allowed to fester in her mind. Slowly, the room emptied of its excess people, and the somber mood was carried with them like a plague. Nobody noticed that four of those people slipped into an unused part of the castle, one after the other.

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"What was she thinking?!" Tanya started in as soon as the door shut behind Lady Kathryn. "I thought we had agreed to wait a little longer before taking any action."

"We had," Lady Irina said dryly from the couch on which she was perched. Ironically, it was the very same seldom-used couch on which Isabella had dressed down the prince so thoroughly and started the entire chain of events. "Clearly she panicked. She was never bright, that one."

"That is putting the matter lightly," Lady Kathryn said. "And she showcased her abundant idiocy in new and imaginative ways today by staging what was perhaps the most easily ousted plot in history. Did she not think at all when she hatched this scheme? It had so many holes, it is small wonder she fell through one of them to her death. Of all the ill-conceived notions . . ."

"They might have been unable to prove her involvement had she not stuck around in the corridor for no reason," Irina pointed out. "That was her fatal mistake."

"Yes, or she might have been able to produce a legitimate reason for her presence in the corridor had she taken some forethought and stayed calm when the king called for her," Tanya snarled. "Breaking down as she did and ranting and raving about the princess was a good as a signed confession! Why on earth did she linger in that corridor?"

"I imagine she realized that the whole plan would be for naught if Lady Isabella entered her own chambers before any other and saw the letter first," Kathryn said casually. "Or even if another found the letter and was too timid or afraid to report it, as that Angela girl might have been without Lauren's intervention. She was ensuring that her plan would be seen through to the end."

"To her own detriment, and ours," Tanya snapped. "Do you realize the position we are in now? Princess Isabella came out of this looking like a saint, and any attempts we might now make to similarly discredit her will be met with great suspicion. And those suspicions will immediately be turned on us since Lauren has drawn such attention to us."

"And did you see the way Edward rose to her defense?" Irina added bitterly. "He rather adamantly and publicly supported her, despite the odds against her at the time he spoke. Lauren did naught but favors for Princess Isabella both with the people and with Edward."

"Yes, Lauren has made the Arizian trollop an even bigger problem than previously," Tanya groused. "We need to take action where she is concerned, but with recent events we can do naught with any haste."

"And we will need to be more direct in our strategies than we anticipated," Kathryn added. "She clearly is not rattled on a whim: not one among us could shake her mind or her confidence when we tried, and she hardly faltered a once in the throne room. I dare say removing the problem by engaging in mind games with the source will get us nowhere."

"What say you?" Irina asked of the fourth figure in the room, its sole male occupant. "You have yet to air your thoughts."

"I care not for your petty vendetta against the princess," Sir James answered smoothly. "I care only for the destruction of the Arizians, however that may be accomplished. Whatever plans we set in motion with regards to the lovely Isabella will further that end, or I will have no part in them."

"Yes, yes, we've all heard about your quarrel with the Arizians," Kathryn said impatiently. "We've already agreed to your terms. But how do you discern we should proceed now?"

"I agree that going to ground for now is the wisest course of action," he said. "Nobody would believe any accidents or other misfortunes that might befall the princess after today. Let us wait a week without being seen with one another for the fervor over today's events to cool somewhat. A week hence let us reconvene to evaluate where situation stands at that point."

The three women murmured their agreement, thoroughly frustrated that any plans they might have made would be delayed thus. With that decision cemented, the four slipped one by one out of the room and seamlessly back into the midst of the court, with none the wiser of the mutinous thoughts they hid just beneath the surface.

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**There you have it! Let me know your thoughts, suggestions, grievances, or questions.**

**Up next: a short outtake of Sir James's thoughts and motivations. Let me know who else you'd like to see outtakes from.**

**Thanks! See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	6. Meet Sir James

**Hello, lovely readers! I'm glad you, for the most part, liked the last chapter. Many of you were terribly upset that the rest of the mistresses were not brought to justice immediately, and though I don't like them either, I think that would be premature. Remember that they haven't actually done anything yet besides plot. For that matter, they haven't even really plotted because all they've decided to do so far is nothing. It would still be considered treason if it came out what they are saying, but it seems a bit of an anticlimactic way to go. Besides, if they left so early in the story, where would all the action come from later? :)**

**Anyways, here is the promised outtake. I considered keeping the fourth conspirator's identity a secret last chapter, but I knew you'd all guess it was James anyway, so I figured it was a bit futile. Instead, I'm going the completely opposite direction by giving you a glimpse into why he does what he does. I'm not sure I'm happy with it, but it was eating at me so I just decided to post it and get it over with. Hopefully you'll understand him a bit more going forward.**

**Enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

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Sir James was no fool. He knew that the absence of the crown prince's three remaining mistresses immediately following the trial of the fourth could not have gone completely unnoticed, as the women had supposed. He was sure nobody had observed where they went or when they arrived back – they had at least enough stealth for that. But their absenteeism during a time when many gossipers were sure to be seeking them out to get their reactions, only to find them altogether missing, would not go unmarked.

Nevertheless, he was not worried. There was nothing illegal about their talking together, though there was plenty suspicious. And in any event, all that mattered was that his own absence had not been noted. And why would it? He was the last person to be lumped into a category with those three in the court's mind.

To his thinking, the mistresses were just a means to an end, expendable warm bodies both to do his bidding when the time became ripe to bring down Arizia and to take the blame in his place for the crimes they would commit together. So blinded were they by their own vendetta, and so shallow in their thoughts, that they saw not the larger mural he was painting with their help. It had been a mistake to include Lauren in his plans. He had always known she was unstable, and her premature attack on the princess and subsequent nervous breakdown showcased as much in grandiose manner.

He had quickly and discreetly cleaned up that mess. Over the years, he had ensured that he maintained friendships with people in every area of castle life, and it was through casually conversing with key contacts that he discovered Lauren's situation immediately after conversing with the women. Apparently, her hysterics had devolved into incomprehensible babbling, and they had hoped to bring her mental state around for questioning by calming and motivating her with a hearty, freshly-prepared meal. Upon receiving this news, James had gone to the kitchens with haste and begun conversing coyly with the maid he had befriended down there. While she was distracted by his handsome form, he had slipped a bit of something into a bottle of what passed as wine – the one set aside for dungeon meals. The bottle was rarely-used, as treats such as wine were a rarity for prisoners, so it was doubtful that any other than Lauren would drink from it before its sinister contents were discovered. The food had some time still to cook, so he was able to distance himself from the matter by taking his leave long before the meal was sent down.

Soon the alert would be raised, and a murderer with unknown motivations would be hunted. But none would be caught, fostering a nice atmosphere of fear within the castle. He hoped to exploit that fear in the coming weeks as the next steps of his plans were put into effect.

He had already been supplying Aro and his followers with key information to aid them in planning an uprising. Of course, he knew full well that the Arizian scum would never be able to achieve his goals, but by giving him the means to try, James was feeding into the mounting tensions between the two groups. Soon, Englasia would have no choice but to respond to Aro's threat, and the escalation would devastate Arizia past the point of recovery.

He was actually quite pleased with the day's events when all was said and done. The turn in the court's opinion of the princess, which had so dismayed his three fellow conspirators, would play into his goals perfectly. He knew that a shrewd mind like Isabella's would be able to turn her victory today into a swell of public favor in the coming week. She would win their hearts, and when "Arizian rebels" brought about the demise of their newly-beloved princess in the near future, the outrage would be terrible in its intensity. The people would cry out for blood. Such a misfortune would also serve to eradicate her negative influence on the crown prince.

James held no ill will toward Prince Edward. On the contrary, Edward, with his blind and unquestioned hatred of the Arizians, had been an unwitting ally, one that James had depended upon. With such a crown prince, and someday king, he had planned to leverage that hatred as a valuable tool to achieve his ends. But with the interference of his Arizian chit of a wife, Edward had started thinking far too circumspectly about the nation. That was a situation James could not afford.

Arizia had taken the one thing that had meant anything to him from this earth, and for that it would pay dearly. He had not always harbored such resentment toward the country; in fact, his former trade as a blacksmith had often taken him across the shared border in his younger years, and he was friendly with some among the Arizians. But on one such trip, one that he knew would last several weeks, he elected to bring with him his cherished wife so as to avoid such a long separation.

Victoria never made it back to Englasia.

On the third day of their stay, the two had taken a short leave of one another that she might shop for fabric while he sold a horse shoe set. He never saw her alive again. When she did not return, a frantic search on his part led to his finding her beaten, violated, and strangled, dumped on the side of the road like so much trash. The local authorities had closed her case a mere two days later on the basis of "a lack of evidence." They did not even pretend to have made much effort in the matter, and the constant undercurrent of Englasian slurs and jabs as they delivered the news to him made the reason behind their inaction clear.

He tried every avenue available to him to have those responsible for his wife's murder brought to justice, even going so far as to attempt to gain an audience with the king. He was denied his request by the guards at the castle gates, as only Arizian citizens had the right to petition the king. No others with the authority to do something about the horrifying corruption were willing to help him, choosing to believe the words of their Arizian comrades that the evidence was insufficient over those of a foreigner and an Englasian to boot. He finally resigned himself that the Arizian justice system had failed his wife entirely and returned to his homeland to nurse his broken heart.

It took very little time for his unspeakable grief to turn into unshakeable bitterness towards Arizia. It was Arizians who had raped her and killed her, and it was Arizians who had allowed those monsters to go free. He became determined to exact his revenge upon the whole of the country. Abandoning his trade, he turned to a path that would gain him not only access to Englasia's ruling powers but also influence among them. To that end he became a knight's squire and in a few short years proved his worth and loyalty to the king and was knighted himself. He rose through the ranks of his order until he finally achieved one of the highest honors available to one of his station: groomsman to the crown prince. And now, ten years after Victoria's murder, he was ideally situated to bring the nation responsible for her demise to its knees.

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**There you have it. James isn't motivated by greed or a thirst for power, or even pure racism. He tragically lost the great love of his life, and that powerful love turned to powerful hate.**

**I would like to make something clear: Arizia's law enforcement system is not merely a giant machine of corruption and racism, though James sees it that way. No matter where you go, there are horrible people willing to do horrible things and shady people willing to look the other way. And when James appealed for help, it was the word of a foreigner they'd never seen before against well-established and respected government officials', and they trusted their countrymen, a very human if unwise decision.**

**Drop me a review to tell me what you think! See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	7. In the Chambers of Kings and Princes

**Hello, lovely readers! Here's the next chapter. I know it didn't come as quickly as the others, but this will probably be more of a realistic representation of the time between updates going forward.**

**I've had a couple questions/comments in reviews that I'm going to address at the bottom, so check out my A/N if you like. Enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

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The princes of Englasia were subdued as they sat in front of the fire blazing in Jasper's chambers. After the king had dismissed his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law, Jasper had taken leave of his wife, grabbed the elbow of a still-dazed Edward, and motioned for Emmett to follow. After Emmett took leave of his own wife, the three had made their way up to Jasper's quarters, and Jasper had ordered a fire built. Once that was done, he ordered all out and demanded that there be no interruptions until further notice.

That had been over two hours ago, and still the only words spoken by any of the three since they left the throne room had been Jasper's to the servants. Jasper and Emmett somberly regarded their brother as he stared into the fire, grappling with truths to which he had long been blind.

Edward had been contemplating his life's course before today, of course, but his thoughts had been almost academic in nature. Certainly, he had been detached and abstract in his thinking on such things, as he dragged the decision-making process along to suit himself. But today, he had seen for the first time a truly ugly consequence for his actions. For the first time, repercussions followed his poor decision-making, and the entire situation had been brought to startling concreteness.

"She could have been sentenced to death today, and it would have been my fault," Edward realized aloud, startling his brothers. "Isabella's character and loyalty were attacked because of me, and it nearly cost her her life."

"Isabella was never in any danger," Jasper said dismissively. "I certainly was never truly concerned for her."

"Yes, I saw the amusement playing about your lips when I entered," Edward said accusingly. "Might I inquire as to what you found so funny in the situation?"

"She and you both already enumerated the reasons for my mirth before the court," Jasper said with a smile. "One has only to spend a moment with Isabella, truly studying her, to know that she could not have been the mastermind behind such an ill-conceived plot, and she surely would not be as dim as to leave evidence out in the open if she had."

"Yes, those were my thoughts almost exactly," Edward said sadly. "Yet if this had occurred a fortnight ago, you would have come to that same conclusion, whilst I would have agreed with her accusers of her probable treason. You understand her far better than I, though I am her husband and you have yet to even converse with her. It should not be so."

"If this had happened a fortnight ago, the king would have no more overlooked Lauren's suspicious behavior than he did today," Emmett said confidently. "The truth would have come out regardless, with your aid or with your ignorant hindrance."

"I cannot believe Lauren capable of such a thing," Edward muttered, ignoring the end of Emmett's statement. "My head still reels with thoughts of it, though the afternoon has long since waned to evening."

"That is because you understand women not in the least," Emmett said.

"I understand them quite well enough," Edward snapped at him. "Such knowledge is the means by which I charm so many to bed."

"Your charms have little to do with it," Jasper said exasperatedly. "Your titles and your riches have much. You possess in your arsenal a small collection of pretty words to inform women of your carnal interest, but the lovers you have entertained have been ready to spread their legs for you long before you opened your mouth. Indeed, they were ready to do so before they ever laid eyes on you. The word 'prince' is all required to encourage them to your bed."

Edward opened his mouth as though to retort, though he was unsure what to say. They were no more to him than warm bodies for his pleasure; was he truly no more to them than memorable evenings to gloat over?

"No," he answered his own question. "Lauren loved me. It had nothing to do with titles. Else she would not have put on such a display today."

"Yes, in time Lauren grew to love you," Jasper conceded. "But it started the same for her as all the others. But Lauren was deeply jealous and delusional, thinking you loved her back, of which thought you did nothing to relieve her. Her mind was too far gone to distinguish fiction from reality."

"So you are saying that only a lady who has taken leave of her senses would love me?" Edward asked in disbelief.

"No, we are saying the only woman who ever _has_ loved you took leave of them long ago," Emmett said with a small smile. "Think on it. All of your other mistresses are somewhat more artificial in their dotings than Lauren was. They continue to spend their nights with you for the position in court such behavior brings them. You are their means of ensuring their continued popularity."

"So you think they will not act so horribly as Lauren has?" Edward asked hopefully.

Jasper looked on him with something akin to pity. "They would not be as foolish as Lauren was," he started. "They would neither leave overt evidence pointing to themselves nor transparently display all their thoughts and emotions if caught. But they would most certainly do anything to secure their continued place at your side."

"What are you suggesting they would do?" Edward asked uncertainly.

"I know not," Jasper said sadly. "But I do know all three of them to be selfish, vain, and unused to being denied their desires. They are also completely unconcerned with ethics or morality and take no thought on harming others with words or actions. Furthermore, they see your wife as an obstacle to the way of life to which they have become accustomed. I cannot say how far they are willing to go to continue that lifestyle, but I would not underestimate them, especially as an allied group."

"Allied?" Edward started.

"Have you not noticed them talking with one another in hushed tones among shadows and behind pillars?" Emmett asked disbelievingly. "Oh, I forgot for a moment to whom I spoke. Of course you did not notice."

"If my dissociation from them is bringing danger to my wife . . ." Edward started.

"That is by far the thinnest excuse to continue infidelity I have ever heard," Jasper said abruptly. "I said nothing last week because you were altogether bombarded with thought fodder as it was, but I strongly believe you should cut the three of them out of your life. Your wife has proven herself capable of looking after herself, and continuing association with your mistresses rather than cleanly breaking from them will only engender strife in your marriage and with them. They will not allow matters to return to their former state, not after today. They will endeavor to secure from you a denouncement of your wife as anything more than collateral on the Arizian treaty. And I tell you now that such a move would only alienate Isabella still further than you already have. You need her trust and her favor, for she will be an excellent ruler and spouse by your side if you have them. But you have a long way to go to earn them as it is without attempting to reach any closer to the earth's core with your hole-digging."

"I know I said keeping them might be wisest last week," Emmett said seriously. "But after today I have changed my mind. Your wandering eyes almost cost your wife her life; continuing such a course is nothing more than blatant unconcernedness for her well-being. Isabella is worth more than ten thousand each of Tanya, Kathryn, and Irina, and as Jasper said, none of them will allow you to continue riding the fence where Isabella is concerned. You must choose now. I beg you choose wisely."

A loud banging on the door caused all three to jump.

"Who dares disobey a direct order from the prince?" Jasper bellowed. "I called for no interruptions!"

"I am sorry, my lord," one of Jasper's groomsmen called, "but the king has called for a royal gathering immediately."

All three brothers looked at each other, aghast. Unexpected royal family meetings were only held in case of great emergency. "What could have happened now?" Edward whispered. "Today cannot possibly fit another horror into it."

The others did not answer, and all three rose to go to the king's private library, where such meetings were held. When they got there, they found the king and queen sitting behind his ornate desk with white faces.

"Father, what is it?" Edward asked immediately. "Who is in trouble?

"Ease your mind, my son," the king sighed. "It is no one for whom we should be concerned."

"Yet you called for us," Jasper said slowly.

"Yes, and I will explain why once your lovely wives join us," the king said. The words were barely from his lips when Lady Isabella entered the room. She quickly bowed to the king and queen.

"Rise, daughter," King Carlisle said softly. "You will soon learn that we dispense with such formalities when convened in this room. This is a room for family to lean upon and offer advice to one another in time of difficulty."

Isabella's eyes widened. "What has transpired?" she said swiftly. "Is it Aro? Are my people safe? What of my father?"

"Calm yourself, child," the queen said with a sad smile. "This has little if anything to do with those you hold dear in your homeland."

Isabella released a breath of relief while her husband regarded her curiously. Those few exchanges were the first time anything approaching vulnerability had crossed her face in all the time he'd known her. The expression made her more human to his eyes.

In that moment, Ladies Alice and Rosalie entered. After taking in the expressions of those already gathered, they wordlessly took their places by their husbands. The princes all seated their respective wives on couches and then sat beside them. Isabella saw that her brothers-in-law immediately took their wives' hands tightly in their own, but neither she nor Edward made moves to connect with one another tactilely.

Once all were situated, King Carlisle announced, "Lady Lauren has been murdered."

Dead silence followed his pronouncement for several long moments as the ridiculousness of the statement warred with its gravity in the minds of the room's occupants.

"Can one be murdered who is condemned to death?" Emmett mused aloud.

"If such death is carried out outside the authority of the crown, then yes," the queen said sorrowfully.

"What motivation could there be, though?" Rosalie spoke, bewildered.

"The only incentive would be to silence her from revealing something between now and her execution," Jasper mused aloud before explaining in more detail. "It is common practice for prisoners convicted of a crime to be questioned before their sentences are carried out, that any larger conspiracy they took part in might be determined. It seems unlikely, however, that the clumsy crime committed today was perpetrated by more than one," he finished, looking back at his father.

"Quite so," the king agreed. "Nevertheless, the guards planned to question her as a matter of protocol. Clearly, she knew something that someone could not afford coming to light. Whether that information regarded today's events or something else entirely, I know not."

"How was it carried out?" Isabella asked quietly.

"Her hysterics prevented any profitable discussion, so the guards ordered that a meal be prepared for her, that it might calm her to lucidity," the king explained. "As soon as she drank the wine, she started complaining of feeling faint. Not two minutes later, she collapsed on the ground, and her ghost had taken flight."

"Who had access to the cup?" Jasper asked.

"The kitchen staff and the guards," Carlisle answered. "Sir Benjamin has quietly performed a preliminary investigation on my orders, and in briefly tracing the cup's movement, he found nothing suspicious. He fears that, except we find the poison on the killer's person, we will never be able to verify who placed it in the cup."

Just then, a quiet knock sounded. "My lord, it is Sir Benjamin," he called. "I have news."

"Enter," Carlisle called.

Sir Benjamin swiftly entered the library and bowed before addressing the king. He was one of the crown's most trusted and loyal knights, and he was often tasked with the most sensitive errands the king needed performed. His duties toward the crown prince as his goormsman were hardly his only responsibilities.

"My lord, after my unsuccessful search for suspicious activity surrounding the cup, I discreetly sought information on where the wine was before it was poured," he said swiftly. "I found that there is a bottle of wine of the lowest quality set aside specifically for meals in the dungeons. It is seldom used, as prisoners rarely receive such luxuries, but as the meal today was to bring round a prisoner, it was deemed necessary. I have without detection taken some of that wine and fed it to an old and ailing horse in the stables who was not long for this world. He passed in much the same manner as Lady Lauren. Nobody questioned an old and sick horse dropping dead, but it was clearly from poison to my eyes. The poison was in the bottle before it ever reached the cup."

"When was the bottle used last?" Carlisle questioned.

"Two years ago when a prisoner reached his hundredth year, it was deemed acceptable for him to receive a proper meal, including wine, rather than the prison fare," Benjamin answered. "He lived another eight months before succumbing to death's call."

"So the bottle could have been poisoned any time over two years without detection," the king murmured. Then, aloud, he said, "Thank you, Sir Benjamin, for your update and discretion. I am sure obtaining this information without arousing suspicion was not so easy a task as it sounds when you recount it. I ask that you cease investigations pending further word from me, but until then you are dismissed."

"Yes, sire," Benjamin said before bowing and exiting the room.

"My lord, you cannot believe that that bottle was poisoned before today," Jasper exclaimed as soon the door closed. "It is a stupid murder plot indeed in which target is unknowable and success uncertain. Lauren's drinking that wine was no chance of fate. She was targeted."

"I agree that the possibility of her death being merely the result of a crude attempt on the life of any prisoner is slim," the king allowed. "But that does not make it an impossibility."

"I think we should endeavor to find out which it is and by whom it was carried out without alerting the whole of the kingdom that Lauren was murdered," Isabella spoke up. "A few of your most trusted men would be able to continue discreet investigations without panicking the crowds or alerting the murderer should we come close to identifying him. She was to die anyway. Is it not so improbable that, due to the classless and widely public nature of the proceedings and the unseemly personal connection the whole affair has to a member of the royal family, she was executed quietly?"

"That might be the wisest course, at least until we find out what information she was silenced for," Carlisle said, wiping a hand over his face.

"We can only presume it has to do with Lady Isabella," Jasper said quietly.

"Why her?" Alice asked fearfully, speaking for the first time while peaking a glance at her sister-in-law.

"Lauren saw me as her enemy, and she cared very little for ought but her place with Edward," Isabella answered before Jasper could. "She would have no motivation to conspire with another except with regards to me."

"Could it– I mean– Do you think Edward's other mistresses had anything to do with it?" Alice pressed in a whisper.

Nobody spoke for a moment, some in grave contemplation, others in shock that Lady Alice would speak so openly about such a thing. None, however, felt confident enough either way to offer her an answer.

"Well, whoever it was clearly has no qualms with killing," Emmett added. "You, my lady, could be in grave physical danger."

"None shall lay a hand on her whilst I live to prevent it," Edward said immediately, startling all including himself. "I– I mean, none would dare cross us by bodily harming the crown prince's wife, surely. They fear the king and his sons too much to risk such foolishness."

"Why should they fear our wrath for the murder of an unwelcome Arizian?" Esme asked, looking directly at him with a hard look in her eyes. "For that is all they see. They see not a member of the royal family but an outsider whom the royals tolerate but care nothing for. None among us, and I do not exclude myself, have given any indication that she is significant to us and has equal value and protection to us."

"You mean to say we should be more agreeable with her in public?" Edward asked.

"I mean to say that we should begin acting like a family," Esme concluded authoritatively, "toward _all_ our members."

A small smile played about Isabella's lips. "I think that to be a wonderful idea, my queen," she said amiably. "Though, husband, my words during our first conversation stand true. I will not be made the fool by showing open affection for a man who frequents the beds of others."

Esme smirked slightly at Isabella's reminder, liking her newest daughter more and more as the day progressed. Carlisle, seeing his wife's mirth and sensing his son's mortification, intervened before the conversation could become even more inappropriate for mixed company. "Well then that is our course," he said with finality. "You are all dismissed to your various pursuits."

All rose save the king, the queen, and their eldest son. Isabella glanced back at her husband as she exited and, seeing that he remained, gave that secret smile again before following the others out.

The king raised his eyebrow at his son in question. "I would like to request a private audience, if I may, sire," Edward said formally.

"And upon that pronouncement, I shall retire to my chambers," the queen said lightly before rising gracefully.

"I shall join you shortly, my love," the king promised. Queen Esme then swept regally out of the room, leaving the two men to stare at one another.

"What troubles your mind, my son?" Carlisle asked carefully to begin the conversation.

"Father, for a week now I have been engaging in rather uncomfortable conversations with my wife and brothers and executing much self-reflective thinking," Edward said wearily. "With the events of today also taken into account, I find myself wholly convinced that I am no more ready to rule than I am to fly. I wish to start preparing for my future as king under your tutelage while such a course is still available to me."

His father stared at him for a moment before heaving a great sigh. "It brings me great joy to hear such words from your lips, Edward," he said, though he did not look joyful. "You speak truth when you say you are not ready, but that is my fault as much as yours. It has become increasingly clear to me that I have been remiss in training you for your future and, indeed, in guiding you in your current actions."

"Why have you not done more where I am concerned?" Edward asked hesitantly.

"You must understand, son, that you are not the first young man to 'sow his wild oats,' as the commoners say. I myself was very like you in my younger years, and both my father's constant barrage of criticism and his attempts to impart wisdom fell on deaf ears. It was about the time I was to wed your mother that I became ready to be taught and to learn, as my fast-approaching new responsibilities sobered me and grounded me. My father could not bring me to such a point of readiness; I had to reach it myself.

"I thought the situation would be similar with you. And to spare us both wasted time, breath, energy, and emotion, I forewent criticizing your actions or trying to shape your person when I knew from experience that it would do no good. But I have recently realized that my father's words, though unheeded, were a constant reminder that my actions were immature and unsustainable. By withdrawing that feedback from you, I allowed you to believe that nothing was wrong with your conduct. By the time I came to the conclusion that I had done you a great disservice by my silence, I was unsure how to correct the situation; therefore, I am glad you are willing to take the initiative in the matter."

"Well I can hardly claim credit for such initiative," Edward said sadly. "Others pushed me into my decision. But now that I have reached that point, I wish to spend much time with you as you carry out your duties and to converse with you about the reasons behind your decisions," Edward said eagerly. "In short, I wish to be taught what stuff good rulers are made of."

Carlisle's smile was more genuine this time. "Then I shall start with long-since-overdue critiques of you behavior I have been keeping to myself," he said good-naturedly.

Edward groaned, though the edges of his lips were upturned. "I know not if my pride can take more critiques," he said. "My wife has been most forthcoming with her thoughts about my person, as you just observed, and my brothers have rallied to reinforce her words."

The king looked amused. "In that case, I shall only say this for the moment," he said, "Your wife is a beautiful, intelligent, and altogether able woman. Throwing her aside in favor of others is not only unnecessary but also incredibly foolish. Do not push her past her point of forgiveness, now or ever. As your ally she would be a profitable asset, particularly when you take the throne. But having her as an enemy could cripple you beyond repair."

"You echo the sentiments of your sons," Edward said sadly. "It appears that I am the only one among us who is unable to channel your wisdom in some part."

"They channel their own," Carlisle said. "And you have your own as well. We merely need to tap it and refine it in the coming years."

Edward nodded before rising. "I thank you for your time, Father," he said. "I now retire, and I wish you a good night."

"Fair dreams and morning clarity, my son," the king answered with a common blessing given to one whose mind was troubled. Edward bowed and exited the room, immediately setting out for his chambers. His mind was too full and too fatigued to sort out his various thoughts. For now, sleep was his only course.

* * *

**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**Here are the promised review replies:**

**Firstly, Isabella will have no other lovers nor will she start flirting with other men to get back at Edward. She is trying to teach him maturity and grace by example, and fighting fire with fire in this case is not only against her nature, but it would also just create a bigger fire. That doesn't mean Edward can't be ****_irrationally_**** jealous at some point. ;)**

**Secondly, some of you were upset at me for making James too sympathetic a character. I'm sorry if you're now torn, but James is my main villain, and I couldn't have pulled off a bad guy whose only motivation was selfishness. So many times such characters are entirely one-dimensional. This backstory gave me the depth I felt like I needed to achieve a believable character with a full range of human emotion.**

**I am a firm believer that, whatever has happened to you in the past, you are responsible for your own choices and actions. Yes, James's story is horrible, but he is actively choosing to hurt people now. Remember that going forward.**

**Lastly, a guest review told me it's not possible for a blacksmith to become a knight. Well, remember when I said that in my fictional world I would pick and choose customs from all over the place and sometimes have completely original ones? Well, in Englasia, the nobles are born into their positions, but anybody can earn knighthood. It's based on merit, not one's family.**

**Wow, that was long. Up next we get some more one-on-one Isabella/Edward interaction.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	8. Where Love and Loyalty Live

**Hello, lovely readers! I'm sorry the wait was a bit longer than expected, but more wanted to jump into the chapter than I had planned. And I couldn't cut it off prematurely, because I'd already promised you more Edward/Isabella interaction. I'll try to make it up to you soon. Enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

Isabella strode back to her chambers after the meeting with her new family, far more shaken than she was willing to let on. The day had taken a great toll on her – first with the verbal sparring session with her husband, then with the ridiculous charges of treason, then with Lauren's murder. She was exhausted and wished only to sleep, but she knew her day was not quite through yet.

The events of the day would force her hand to act several weeks before she intended to start earning the court's favor. The day's mockery of a trial would be a turning point for her; whether it be advantageous or no was up to her handling of the situation. She would need to start immediately on the morrow to spin the incident in her favor with the court, but tonight she would start with her maids. They were, after all, to be the ones with whom she would spend the most time.

She reached her rooms and strode into her bedchambers, ready to start winning them over.

"Good evening, la-," she stopped abruptly. Breanne and Claire were standing by her chest of drawers with blank expressions on their faces, but the third was nowhere to be found. "Wherever is Angela?"

Breanne's expression shifted a tiny bit with sadness before returning to its previous blank stare. "She has been dismissed from castle service, my lady," she said stoically.

"Whatever for?" Isabella demanded.

"I fear Madam Cope will have to answer that, my lady," Breanne answered, her voice quivering just the slightest.

"Is it because of Angela's part today in the charges brought against me?" Isabella pressed.

"I cannot say, ma'am," Breanne said softly. "But that was my impression, yes."

Isabella regarded her for a moment. "Is she yet in the castle?" she asked.

"Yes, my lady," Breanne answered. "She is due to leave early tomorrow."

"Go to her chambers, Breanne, and inform her that she shall not be going anywhere," Isabella said crisply. "If the castle's manager takes issue with it, she may come to me with her concerns. Angela is not to leave this castle without my express permission until I give further notice, and that is an order. Am I understood?"

Breanne had looked shocked at the beginning of the speech, but by its conclusion her countenance was radiant with joy. "Yes, ma'am," she said exuberantly. "I shall go inform her immediately."

"Thank you," Isabella said with a soft smile. "There's no need to return after your message has been delivered. I'm sure you will want some time with your friend after today's trying events. Claire and I will manage without further assistance."

Breanne hastily bowed and hurried out of the room.

* * *

The next morning, Isabella was woken by a shaking on her shoulder, something to which she had not been subjected since she was a small child.

"My lady, my lady," she heard Breanne whisper urgently. "Please wake. Madam Cope is intent on sending Angela away, and I cannot persuade her otherwise."

Isabella blinked herself awake and glanced around the room. Breanne seemed close to tears hovering right over her while Claire stood a few feet back, looking uncertain. Breanne knew that there could be harsh consequences for waking the princess in such a manner, but she was caught in a dreadful dilemma: either wake the princess unceremoniously or disobey her direct order from the eve before _and_ allow Angela to be thrown out. The former was the obvious lesser of two evils, for more reasons than one, so such was her choice. Breanne would worry about repercussions once Angela was reinstated.

"Breanne, go fetch Madam Cope and Angela both," she said tiredly. "Tell Madam she is to present herself to me immediately on my orders. Claire, I shall need to be made presentable in rapid fashion."

"Yes, my lady," they both said immediately and set about fulfilling her commands.

Twenty minutes later, a knock came at the door. Isabella had donned her simplest dress, and Claire had arranged her hair in a neat, if not stylish, fashion. "Enter," Isabella called lazily, as though she had not just sped about her chambers getting ready in chaotic fashion.

The door opened, and Breanne entered followed by Angela and who could only be Madam Michelle Cope. Her severe appearance coupled with the haughty air she carried left no doubt in Isabella's mind that she was accustomed to ruling with a firm hand her area of castle life without question.

"Your highness," she said after rising from her rather stoic bow. "I apologize for these girls' continued disturbances. The have completely abandoned the constraints of their post, and I assure you that they shall not be bothering you any longer."

Isabella saw both Breanne and Claire stiffen from the corner of her eye at the clear threat to their jobs.

"On the contrary, Madam Cope," she said pleasantly. "They have not done aught except by my orders. Pray tell, on what grounds do you intend to terminate their jobs?"

"I have never been asked to give account of my personnel decisions before," Madam Cope bristled, visibly affronted.

"Perhaps not, but now you are," Isabella said with a bit of warning in her tone.

"Well, this one is obvious," the old woman said, gesturing toward Angela.

"Were it obvious, I would not have enquired, Madam," Isabella said primly.

Madam Cope faltered for the first time, seemingly confused. "Well, she brought false witness against your person before the court, my lady!" she said disbelievingly. "She accused you wrongly of treason!"

"I recall her doing neither," Isabella answered firmly. "I recall Angela answering honestly and fully direct questions asked of her by the king, but never once did she venture to accuse me. I would much rather she and all my servants tell the truth than lie when any of my family asks a question of them, no matter the situation. Would you have rather she lied to the king?"

"She is the one who caused the king's involvement," Madam Cope sneered at Angela, before turning back to the princess.

"So you would have had her lie to Lady Lauren, at the time a noble in good standing with the court, when she asked after her agitated state?" Isabella prodded.

"I will not keep in my employ any who were involved in such a travesty of decorum!" Madam Cope said, losing her patience. "Nor anybody who defends the actions of such," she added with a glance at Breanne and Claire.

"Well then, it is well that I am not in your employ, as I fit both those categories," Isabella said succinctly. "And as they are not in your employ either, but rather that of the royal family, I suppose they are safe as well. Therefore, as their and your employer, I tell you they stay. And if you have objections, I suggest you bring them to one of the few that rule over me. Good day to you."

The castle's manager stood sputtering for a moment before realizing that she could not win the battle with the princess. She turned in a huff and strode out, contemplating taking her concerns higher.

In the meantime, Isabella's three handmaidens seemed caught in a maelstrom of emotions: shock, elation, worry, and amusement all played out over their features as they tried to decide which to act upon. The tension was broken when Breanne burst into a hysterical fit of laughter at Madam Cope's parting expression, in which she was soon followed by her fellow maidens. The princess, though she did not join the hilarity, felt her lips curl up into a small grin at their merriment. From that moment on, she had the unflinching loyalty of her three closest servants.

* * *

The prediction Sir James had made about Isabella's abilities to turn her experience in her favor proved more than true. She found herself, not for the first time, the center of attention in court that day and in the following week, only now the nobles were seeking her out for conversation rather than staring at her in disgust. Their motivations varied: some were looking for gossip, some were merely curious to hear her talk for the first time interpersonally, and some wanted to show their genuine appreciation for the way she handled herself when on trial.

Isabella charmed and astounded them all by asking questions about the matters she had heard about over the months. She asked Sir Eric about his sister's recent illness and Lady Charlotte about her husband's chronic leg pains. She asked Lady Stanley if the ball that the she and Lady Mallory had been organizing would continue as planned, even after the Mallorys' recent flight to their country estate following their daughter's disgrace. She commented to Lady Jessica Newton that her glowing report of her time in the eastern part of the country had sparked in herself a desire to visit. She thanked Lord Eleazar for his excellent work as an emissary between King Carlisle and her father and asked Lord Waylon whether the crops on his lands had survived the upswing in locusts this season, and she did it without a break in conversation. The court fell a little more enamored of her every day.

This process was only helped by the royal family's sudden and reciprocal warmth toward the newest princess. The king and the queen were seen amiably conversing with her, and she suddenly was enjoying time with Princes Jasper and Emmett and their wives. Lady Rosalie was still distant and cold, but she was longer openly hostile as they had all once been.

Edward, for his part, had taken to avoiding everyone altogether, not just the females of the species. Isabella had told him in the course of their first conversation that he was incapable of being embarrassed, but he now knew that to be untrue. He was embarrassed at the display Lauren, his open mistress, had put on, and he was guilty over the havoc his actions with her had caused. His self-reflection was speedily reaching new depths as he pondered how unaware he had been, or chosen to be, as it regarded the way his activities affected others. He also observed with growing ire his wife's new activities on those occasions when he was forced to attend court. In only a week she had with her silver tongue and astounding memory watered the seed of respect she had won at the trial to grow it into a surge of favor from the courtiers. This in itself did not particularly vex him; she had already informed him that such was her eventual plan, and he had no objections to the future queen earning well-deserved admiration of her people.

What had him in such a state was the attention she was receiving from the young males of the court. They saw how she treated her husband with complete disinterest, and they descended upon her like vultures hoping to get scraps of her attention. And she did not shun them as she did him but rather gave them the smiles and laughter as they spoke and danced with her that she denied her own husband! How could his own wife allow them more liberties than him?

It all became too much for him to bear a mere week and a half after the Lauren debacle. The king and his sons had just received a report from Sir Benjamin that no unusual activity or persons surrounding the prison wine bottle following Lauren's breakdown could be discovered, despite his best efforts and those of the trusted few working with him. This, on top of his required attendance at one of the social gatherings of the court that eve (which he now found rather odious), had Prince Edward in a foul mood. He relished neither watching his wife show more gracious behavior to strangers than him nor facing the court's much-deserved censure, which they attempted to hide from him. He wondered if his actions had always brought such stares and whisperings of disapproval, and he had not seen it simply because he had no desire to see it nor was he looking for it.

He soon found himself sulking in the corner of the grand ballroom as he watched the frivolous entertainment going on about him. Courtiers danced and laughed and drank expensive wine, but he was in no disposition to enjoy the luxury about him. Suddenly, he felt a presence beside him, but he didn't bother to look around at the intruder. He wondered that anybody had been able to penetrate the cloud of ill will that hovered about him until he heard the sugary sweet voice that accompanied the disturbance.

"Edward, darling, more than two weeks now you have moped about, and I grow lonelier by the hour," Tanya purred at him. "I know much has been plaguing your mind, but surely you need some assistance to alleviate the stress you've been carrying. See how your wife dances and laughs with another at this very moment. Do you deny yourself the company of a woman while she indulges herself with other men?"

Edward still did not look at her, partially due to his indifference to her person and partially due to his brothers' words of her false motives. He could, in light of that conversation, already hear the artifice in her voice. He had no desire to see it in her eyes as well.

"If I desired your help with my agitated state, I would have asked," he said tersely. "I have no need of you, and I specifically told you to leave me be until I approached you. It would be unwise to disobey a direct order from the crown prince a second time, Lady Tanya."

With that, he walked away without a backwards glance, leaving a steaming and worried woman in his wake. Tanya made eye contact with her fellow mistresses in turn and gave a slight shake to indicate he was not receptive to her advances and warn them against a similar attempt. Ladies Kathryn and Irina frowned briefly before resuming their conversations as though naught had happened.

Prince Edward had found himself another corner and was watching his bride from afar, Tanya's words ringing in his ears, as she enjoyed a turn about the ballroom with Sir Eric. Objectively, he knew his wife's manner and actions were without guile, and he knew Sir Eric to be a loyal and worthy knight who would never entertain improper thoughts of the future queen. But that the attentions she so readily gave Sir Eric and others she denied her husband caused a fit of anger and jealousy the likes of which he had never known. As he stewed, another carefully crafted smile graced his wife's lips at something Sir Eric uttered, and his longsuffering on the matter was spent.

He marched rather purposefully through the crowd of dancers gliding about until he reached Isabella. "You don't mind if I borrow my wife, do you, Sir Eric?" Edward asked through clenched teeth as he grabbed firmly yet not painfully at her arm. Without waiting for a response, he half dragged her from the ballroom, noticing neither the amused smirk on her face nor the countless shocked eyes following his path. He strode straight through the castle until he reached the unused sitting room that had seen more clandestine meetings in the last three weeks than it had in the decade previous.

Once the door slammed behind him, he released Isabella and rounded on her. "Do you make it a point to be altogether insufferable, or is it a gift of God to be able to torment me thus?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, my lord," Isabella answered, though she did not bother to drop her smirk.

"Do not play coy or pretend stupidity, Isabella," he sneered. "It is unbecoming, and you have never seen cause to lie before."

"Well, perhaps if I know exactly what vexes you so I can better combat with you in this situation," she said gaily, though her smile soon dropped as her words took on an ominous air. "And may I suggest you choose your words carefully, sire. As our Lord said, 'With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.'"

Edward did not miss the threat in her voice, but he barreled on regardless. "You flirt with and tease all the men of the court with coquettish smiles and soft laughter," he raged. "You openly snub me whilst encouraging them. I will not be made the fool in such a way!"

There was a brief pause in which Isabella merely looked at her husband. Then, she threw her head back and started shaking with peals of laughter. She did not stop for a full two minutes while Edward watched her, bemused. She finally collapsed onto a nearby couch and started gaining her breath back as Edward spoke once again.

"I see no humor in my words," he said gruffly.

"That is because you yourself are the punch line," she said boldly. "For one, you know as well as I that my actions have not been in the least bit inappropriate, nor have they been slights to your person. Were either true, I would have been punished, perhaps capitally, by the king for unfaithfulness to the crown prince. And even were I to flirt with all the men in the court, you have no justification for scolding me – you who have openly had no less than four mistresses at once while married to me. Do not venture to speak with me about unfaithfulness or being made the fool in front of the court, Prince Edward, for your sins in this regard shall ever outweigh mine by untold degrees."

"'Tis not the same," Edward grumbled. "And I have not visited the bed of any for nearly three weeks now."

"Why ever is it not the same?" she asked in disbelief. "Because I am female? I am not so insecure nor so stupid as to believe that my gender matters in the least in this case, and you show only your own ignorance if you use that argument. And three weeks of abstinence is hardly something to celebrate. You have yet to prove anything but that inner turmoil precludes sexual gratification for you. Nay, my lord, you have no cause for ire."

"I have plenty cause for ire," he spat. "You are mine!"

A ringing silence hung in the room as Isabella and Edward both absorbed the words he had just uttered. Isabella dropped her haughty smile for a more serious and almost tired expression.

"No I am not, sire," she said. "For you, for all your faults, are not a thief and cannot possess me but by my leave. And I will never surrender my person to another unless that person is equally surrendered. And your pride and your lifestyle forbid you to commit to one person alone. I am not yours, sire, for you will never consent to being mine."

"I have been giving the matter some thought, actually," Edward said, calmer now and equally run down after he listened to his wife, "especially since the incident in the throne room, for which I have no words to express my shame and regret. I have merely been unable to reach a conclusion."

"You tarry because you are frightened and proud and selfish," Isabella said bluntly. "Yet you cannot move forward until you have come to the crisis point and chosen. If you want me, you know my conditions for moving forward as man and wife. Choose those things which carry import to you, my lord, be they your pleasure or your family and people. The time is long since passed for this moment, when you choose maturity over childishness and love of country over love of self. Make your choice ere the opportunity to win the respect and loyalty of your people is gone."

* * *

**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**Many of you now hate Carlisle for how he handled the whole Edward situation. Yes, he was misguided, but don't be too hard on him. He's an excellent ruler, but when it came to his sons he simply made the age-old parenting blunder of overcompensating from the mistakes of his own father. And don't forget that he's not the only one guilty of parental stupidity here. King Charles, though also a good ruler, had absolutely nothing to do with how Isabella turned out; she succeeds despite his negligence in her upbringing. We'll get a better glimpse into how she became who she is later.**

**I was also asked whether there will be any character deaths. Well, obviously Lauren's already dead, but yes there will be more, of both good guys and bad guys. I can only promise that the Cullens will all make it through intact. **

**Up next: Esme and the princesses bond while Carlisle and the princes talk about the Arizian uprisings.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	9. An Announcement and a Summons

**Hello, lovely readers! I'm not entirely sure I'm satisfied with this chapter, but I'll let you guys be the judges. Hop you enjoy – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

"My, what a lovely day it has turned out to be, don't you agree?" Queen Esme asked of no one in particular as she and her daughters-in-law sat around a small table in the gardens and sipped at their tea.

"It is positively the bluest sky and the brightest sun I think I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying," Lady Alice answered with her usual exuberance. Isabella was often torn between imagining her as a small puppy, excited by the most inconsequential things, and imagining her as a curious child who didn't quite understand the way the world worked. She was a good and kind person, Isabella knew that without a doubt, and she was wholeheartedly devoted to her husband, a devotion he reciprocated, but her naivety rankled at her newest sister at times.

"And such a breeze blows as to perfectly counterbalance the heat," Lady Rosalie added airily, not wanting to be left out of the discussion. Isabella gave an inward sigh at the inanity of the pleasantries, though outwardly she kept a polite smile.

"What say you, Isabella?" the queen asked, fishing for more stimulating conversation than her other daughters had provided without changing the topic from the weather. She was sure Isabella was up to the task of making the dull subject more engaging.

"It is a pleasant day, to be sure," Isabella started, "but I confess that, while I enjoy the weather here, springtime in Arizia is an unparalleled experience. Nary a day goes by that I don't long for the sights of my youth to which I am used."

"You dare insult our home?" Rosalie snarled.

"Not at all," Isabella said with an amused smile. "I admit that I've enjoyed observing the differences in how the seasons play between our two territories. But everyone must be allowed fond remembrance of days past. For if we forget the goodness of the past we have naught to strive to achieve in the future. It is enchanting memories that give us standards of happiness to reach."

"Well said," Esme rejoined. "And I thank you for your perspective, on the weather and on other matters. Your fresh insight has already effected many changes that were long overdue."

"We needed not the help of an Arizian," Rosalie seethed. "We were wonderful before her disruption into our lives."

"Oh, Rosalie, don't be such a bother," Lady Alice whined. "You only sulk because she is prettier and cleverer than you. The changes we have witnessed in our dear brother-in-law are her doing, but you would rather he continue with his unseemly actions that you might prove that no man can be tamed but by you."

Rosalie was red in the face by the end of Alice's little speech, but the queen cut them off before she could retaliate.

"And what of your monthlies, Isabella, dear?" she asked as though the abrupt change in conversation was the most natural thing in the world.

"They persist, your majesty," Isabella answered cheerfully without missing a beat. She saw Rosalie's smug smirk from the corner of her eye and continued, trying to put her in her place. "Though I have been married for much shorter a time than my lovely sisters, and they have yet to produce heirs for their husbands either."

The smile dropped off Rosalie's face, but Alice was chipper as ever. "Yes, well, Jasper and I have only been married for two years now, and the need to produce an heir is much less urgent in the youngest of three," Alice said happily. "We are not dismayed and will wait joyfully for children until God grants. We are content to enjoy our time together at present."

Privately, Isabella thought that God had not granted children because of the princess's own childlike behavior. Perhaps once Alice had matured a bit, God would see fit for her to conceive.

"What of you, Rosalie?" the queen asked.

For the first time, Isabella saw something akin to vulnerability on her elder sister's face. "My courses came not this month," Rosalie said with a bittersweet smile. "But I have yet to tell my husband. I cannot bear his disappointment when I bleed my child out yet again."

Isabella's eyes moved swiftly yet stealthily to Rosalie, and she experienced sudden shame for her earlier jab. She had not known that Rosalie had lost previous children, and the genuine sadness that seemed to emanate from such a vain person as she talked of it startled Isabella greatly.

"We know not why God has tried you this way," the queen started compassionately, "but you mustn't lose hope, my dear. To this point, he has seen fit to gather all those you have conceived to Himself almost immediately. Perhaps they were too pure for this world. But one day He will allow a child, mayhap this child, to stay with us for longer than the others."

Rosalie smiled faintly, though she seemed to take little comfort. "Perhaps," she conceded. "However, I'd still prefer for this conversation to remain private unless the babe endures another two moons. I wish to spare Emmett as much heartache as I am able. In the meanwhile, I am drinking herbal teas the medic has ordered to strengthen my child's chance of living."

Isabella wished to offer condolences and hope to the woman, but she knew that any attempt to assuage her suffering would be violently rejected and seen as condescending, especially in light of her previous comment. Perhaps in the future when they understood and trusted one another she would be able to take such liberties.

"Of course we shall keep your confidence," the queen responded. "And until you see fit to reveal your child's existence and indeed still after such time, we shall pray for its safe passage into this world."

* * *

While the ladies were mourning the lost children of Rosalie and Emmett and hoping for a better outcome for the newest babe, the men were in discussion regarding their growing concerns over the uprisings in Arizia. The king, his sons (partially due to Edward's new interest in the running of the country), and his ambassador to the Arizians were all closeted in the conflict room, discussing the next steps to take in the situation.

"I wish I could say that their clamors will die down naturally," Lord Eleazar said. "But having experienced the national climate toward our rule and having spoken at length with Lord Charles, I firmly believe that the fervor will not simply fade with time."

"Yes, he says as much in the missive he sent with you," the king sighed. "Yet he also says not to be too discouraged by their outspoken protests and threats. He has spoken with a great many people who accept us, if begrudgingly."

"Yes, many are reasonable enough to understand why the joining of their nation with ours was necessary," Eleazar said. "And our generous and continual support with our resources, which has saved countless of their lives, has gone tremendous lengths for many in curbing their near-inherent hatred toward Englasia."

"But those that are accepting of us are content to simply go about their lives as law-abiding citizens, so we hear not their voice," Jasper surmised.

"Quite so," Carlisle agreed. "I do not despair for the whole country. But these rebels are not only threats to us should they take up arms, which they seem willing to do, but also poison to the minds of Arizians with regards to us. Except their disruptions die down quickly, and all evidence points to the contrary, we shall need to deal with them ourselves."

"Are we willing to forcefully silence a group who has, to this point, done naught but spoken out against us?" Emmett asked quietly. "This Aro and his followers have made threats, yes, but should we be the ones to initiate an actual conflict, their rantings about our tyrannical and unjust rule will only be validated."

"Such measures would be neither unjust nor tyrannical," Edward said quickly. "They have long since crossed the line of harmless unrest."

"That may be so," Jasper allowed, "but I agree that it would be perceived poorly by the whole of Arizia and would cause even the peaceful and compliant to look upon us in hate. These men are yet their countrymen, even if they agree not with their words and deeds. Many of the rebels are young and misguided and have been steered into Aro's trap by talk of glory and the romantic notion of overthrowing foreign rule. Slaughtering them would be seen as the pinnacle of cruelty, and in any event I personally am not comfortable with such a move."

"Yes, it is for these and many other reasons that I wish to take arms against the rebels as a last resort," the king nodded. "But something must be done, and our and Charles's words of peace have fallen on deaf ears."

"What is the attitude toward Charles in Arizia?" Jasper asked of Eleazar.

"Most are still loyal to him and appreciate that he exhausted all alternatives before turning them over to a foreign power," Eleazar responded. "Those that resent our rule feel betrayed by him, though most still look to him as their leader. The most extreme among them, of whom Aro is the foremost, have declared him a traitor of Arizia and call for his execution."

"What of Isabella?" Edward asked curiously, though if any should ask why that was relevant, he would not have an answer. The rest of the room, however, looked at the question as a positive interest in his wife and indulged him.

"They deeply mourn her departure from their shores, for she was much beloved," Eleazar answered. "In fact, I do believe some feel much more keenly Charles's decision to hand her person over to a foreign and hostile kingdom than they do his decision to unite our countries. They feel that in surrendering his own flesh and blood and their own greatly-anticipated future queen, he wronged both her and them greatly."

"Future queen?" Edward asked, startled. "How would she have become queen?"

"Since no male heir was produced, she was next in the line of succession under Arizian law," Eleazar explained. "She would have most likely married a high-ranking Arizian noble, who would then have become her queen-consort. Popular opinion in Arizia was that she was more than up to the task of ruling and would effect great positive change once on the throne. They feel cheated of that."

"How do they perceive her attitude toward the decision?" Jasper asked, feeling that this angle might actually be relevant. "Do they think she herself feels cheated of the throne and resents her father's forcing her here?"

"No, none are under any misconceptions that she was not involved in and in agreement with the decision wholeheartedly; she made her approval unmistakably clear to them," Eleazar said. "She sent herself here as much as her father did. But they do feel that Charles should not have put her in that position at all. Was there nothing else that he could have sacrificed before offering up his daughter, their princess?"

"Why not summon Charles here?" Jasper asked suddenly. All turned their startled gazes to him. "We have no ideas on how to quell the rebellion without violence. He might. If we can all sit down face-to-face and discuss it, perhaps some inspiration will be generated."

"Yes, but is it not my job to communicate between your father and Lord Charles that they have no need to meet?" Eleazar asked, not abrasively, but genuinely confused.

"Yes, but if a large number of Arizians are extremely bothered by Isabella's being taken out of their leadership," Jasper started animatedly, "perhaps if she is included in the discussions and Lord Charles testifies to that upon his return, they will realize that she still has part in their governance."

"Could we not converse with her on these matters here that upon my return to Arizia I can simply report so?" Eleazar asked.

"Would they believe it simply on your word" Jasper asked. "Or would it sound like so much political appeasement?"

"I see your point. The idea has merit, Carlisle," Eleazar said slowly, talking to the king as a dear friend as well as a valued ambassador. "Showing yourself willing to take counsel from both Charles and Lady Isabella can only improve your standing with the Arizians. It would not stifle the rebellion, by any reckoning, but it would help inoculate you against Aro's poison by increasing the people's favor toward you."

"But are we willing to leave Arizia without her governor at such a time?" Carlisle asked skeptically.

"I am not suggesting that we host him for more than two weeks," Jasper interjected. "Just enough time for him and his entourage to recover from their journey, conduct strategy meetings with us, and rest enough to travel again."

"Lord William Black is Lord Charles's chief advisor and is nearly synonymous with him in the Arizian mind," Lord Eleazar offered. "If we ensure that he stays behind, he will be able to govern in Charles's stead for a brief while without any difficulty from the people. Well, no new difficulty, in any event."

The king smiled slightly at his words before straightening up and addressing the room with an air of finality. "Very well, we shall invite Lord Charles to meet with us for strategy talks in regards to the rebellions in Arizia," he declared. "I shall draft a missive to such an end, and you, Lord Eleazar, shall depart with it on the morn. Let us pray in the meanwhile that this visit yields solutions; else I dread what we shall be forced to do."

* * *

**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**It has been requested that I go back and show earlier scenes of the story. It's not necessary for the plot, as nothing significant happens before the prologue that I haven't already explained, but I'm willing to supply a couple. I'll probably do an outtake of their first meeting if that's something you guys are interested in…? Or let me know if there are other specific scenes you would like to see.**

**But I'd like to say this now before you get your hopes up: I will not be writing any lemons. There has been and will continue to be talk of their sex lives, and I'll include leave-it-to-your-imagination kind of scenes and depictions of more chaste intimacies, but that's it. I'm sorry if that disappoints you.**

**Also, I have been asked if our couple have had sex yet. I guess I didn't make it very clear, but yes, they have, but it's been perfunctory and solely to produce an heir. He comes in, she lays there, not much else happens.**

**Up next: Edward decides the direction of his life.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	10. Having Come to the Sticking Point

**Hello, lovely readers! Hope you enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

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Isabella was sitting in her sitting room the morning after the royal ladies' garden tea, giving herself what was, in her opinion, a much-deserved reprieve from battle. She was exhausted, mentally and physically, from the events of the last two weeks and saw no end to her struggles in sight. Her ceaseless and calculated efforts among the court had made significant headway with the nobles' opinions of her, but two weeks was hardly sufficient time to cement their favor.

When she had told her husband that she had no allies, she did not yet appreciated the enormity of that truth, not having gotten in the thick of things and having anticipated much more time before she'd be required to do so. But now, dealing with the court and knowing that every move she made could affect the people's opinion of her for her entire rule, she desperately longed for another she could confide in and share her burden with, if only through discussion. None in Englasia qualified.

She did think she was well on her way to making the queen an ally, but she was not willing to make herself vulnerable to such a key player in the war she was waging quite yet. She needed to be absolutely certain of having secured the queen's enduring favor before making a confidante of her.

So it was with a downtrodden countenance that she found herself continuing the painting that had been neglected for two weeks. She carefully added the colors that would bring her childhood home's charms to life. She had been at it for two hours, slowly allowing the tension in her body and mind to release, when a knock sounded at the door. She called for the visitor to enter, and the feeling of déjà vu hit her rather hard when Sir Benjamin came in and bowed low.

"My lady, my lord desires greatly that you read this and give your answer to me forthwith," he said.

He handed her a roll of parchment, and Isabella immediately broke the seal and opened it, feeling sure that she was about the read another invitation to lunch. She was not disappointed.

_My dearest wife,_

_The last time we conversed together, you told me that I needed to make my decision and quickly about the path my life shall henceforth take. Having come to the sticking point and crossed it, I'd like to discuss with you my thoughts and choices._

_I have, with the assistance of a young kitchen maid, prepared a rather impressive picnic luncheon for our enjoyment, that we might go to a place in the forest known only to me where we shall not be disturbed for such a discussion. I'd be most honored if you would agree to meet me at the noontide in the entrance hall that we might set off together. Please send your answer with Sir Benjamin, and dress for riding should you choose to accept my invitation. I await your reply with anticipation._

_Sincerely,_

_Your husband_

Isabella read the letter with a small smile. He had not told her his answer, but the familiarities he had taken when referencing her and himself and the desire for a picnic rather than something less intimate led her to believe he had come to the correct conclusion. She looked back up at Sir Benjamin.

"You may tell him that I would be delighted to accompany him," she said simply, still with that small smile.

"Yes, your highness," he said before bowing once more and leaving the room.

* * *

Edward paced nervously about the entrance hall as he awaited his bride. The servants who were busy about their day gave him a wide berth and shot him worried glances every now and again. Words and sentences blazed through the prince's restless mind as he tried to conjure the coming conversation in a way that would end favorably. The long and short of it was that he knew not Isabella well enough to predict her reactions to any given comment.

The previous day's meeting had yielded many unexpected developments regarding his wife. No one had informed him that she had been destined to rule her country. He had known that she came willingly but not that in doing so she had surrendered her future supremacy over her people. Of course, she would still be queen, and over both her people and his, but she would be under his authority, whereas she would have only answered to God had she stayed in Arizia. She had willingly subjected herself to him, of whom her opinion was rather bleak, that her people might live.

His view of her grew and improved by the day, and his contemplation of her character made him feel woefully inadequate by comparison. She interacted with his people in a way and on a level that he had never even attempted, much less achieved, and he saw admiration for their future queen in their eyes. The respect she was so fond of speaking of was present when they looked upon her, but he now saw that their eyes held only indulgent and near condescending fondness when they looked on him, rather like a small child who has gotten into mischief. He did not like the feeling, and he knew without a doubt that he wanted to earn the right to be esteemed, not indulged.

He was broken from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps descending the stairs. He turned to find his wife, resplendent in her riding dress and cloak. He was hit anew by the beauty and grace she held in her form as he looked her up and down. Her long chestnut hair was pulled back from her face to keep it out of the wind, but it still cascaded down her back in waves. Her deep chocolate brown eyes softly gazed back at him as she reached the bottom of the staircase.

Edward bowed and held out his hand for Isabella. "My lady, you are a delight to behold. I thank you for accepting my invitation," he said.

Isabella placed her hand in his and had to stop herself from arching her brow when he kissed it tenderly. "I was pleased and intrigued to receive it, my lord," she answered. "Shall we be on our way?"

"Of course," he said before offering his arm.

She took it and allowed him to lead her out the doors of the castle and down the steps to where a groomsman was holding the reins of two horses, both already laden down with supplies. The prince gallantly helped Isabella onto hers, where she perched delicately with both legs on one side. He mounted his own horse, and together they set off for the forest.

"Would you be so kind as to inform me when we are no longer likely to come across others?" she asked.

Edward was confused by the request but merely said, "If you wish, my lady."

They entered the forest and rode in comfortable silence, ambling along at the rather slow pace necessitated by Isabella's posture.

Suddenly, Edward broke the silence. "We are now past where anybody should be wandering about."

"Thank you," Isabella said, smiling. She then proceeded to swing her right leg about expertly to straddle her horse.

"You ride like a man?" Edward asked in disbelief and a hint of disapproval.

"I always have," she answered simply.

"Tis immodest!" he exclaimed.

"I always wear skirts that billow well enough to cover me adequately and along with altered men's pants under them as a precaution," she said airily. "I think poor Angela may never recover from her shock when I pulled them out of a trunk I brought from home."

"If you have always ridden so, why did you start our journey side-saddle?" he asked, realizing that voicing his objections at this point would hardly be conducive to the amiable discussion he hoped to have presently.

"I am still at war, sire," she said. "My newborn relationship with your people is far too tenuous to attempt something as radical as this in their sight. The time will come, though."

"And what did your people think of it?" he asked.

"They variously found it endearing, amusing, and a sign of strength," she said pleasantly. "My mother did not."

Edward laughed for a moment but stopped abruptly, realizing that she had just made a joke. He had never heard her say aught that could be construed as amusing except at his expense, so her quip surprised him.

"Let us ride a bit quicker, then," he said, letting the subject alone for now.

"Yes, let's," Isabella agreed. "Though not too quick. I'm afraid this poor mare you've given me is not built for such exertion. Next time we ride together, I shall take a stallion of equal abilities to yours, that we might gallop."

Edward was irked slightly by her assertion, as he was not used to others critiquing his decisions and then asserting their own without asking his leave in the same breath. But again, he let it alone to be addressed at a later date. After all, mares were much safer creatures for females to ride.

They increased their speed and continued in silence for the remainder of their journey, which lasted a full forty-five minutes.

Isabella was appreciating the forest's charms when suddenly she realized that they were no longer surrounded by trees. Her mouth gaped as she gazed around the most beautiful meadow she had ever seen. The wildflowers blew gently in the breeze as the sun shone down upon it and seemed to set it alive. Butterflies and bees danced about as songbirds piped joyful tunes from the branches of the surrounding trees.

Isabella dismounted gracefully, still taking in the splendor around her. Edward was enjoying her reaction immensely and did not realize what she was doing until she was on the ground. He decided he wanted to speak to the person who taught her to ride as a man and dismount without assistance.

He followed her example and took his own horse and hers to the stream that ran the northern edge of the meadow and tied them to nearby branches. They both began drinking immediately as Edward strode to his wife's side.

"I take it you like it, then?" he asked, a bit smugly.

"It is positively gorgeous," she answered. "I don't remember the last time that I was around such untamed and natural beauty. All I have seen for months is the contrived and artificial beauty of the castle and its courtyards. This is the first time I have had opportunity to venture beyond its confines."

Edward thought that a true shame, for he saw easily that she was in her element here, among the wild things. She was adept at handling herself among the court, but here is where she shined to his eyes.

"I discovered it some time ago, and I have never shared its existence with another," he said, willing her to understand the significance he attaches to it.

Her eyes turned to him, and she smiled, genuinely and softly. "I am honored, then," she said. "Thank you for showing it to me."

"Shall we sit and dine?" he offered. She readily agreed, and soon an impressive spread was laid out before them as they ate a delicious lunch. They were both content to eat in peace for the first several minutes, as the long ride had worn them out. Finally, the prince spoke.

"I have some good news to offer, my lady," he said as a way to put her in good spirits for the following conversation. "Lord Eleazar was dispatched today to invite your father to court as soon as it can be arranged."

Isabella started at the news and turned inquisitive eyes on Edward. "Truly?" she asked.

"Yes, indeed," he answered, hoping to be rewarded with a more overt sign of excitement. "I know not how quickly that can be managed nor how fast he will travel with his entourage, but I suspect you shall see a familial face ere a month has passed."

"What troubles bring him here?" she asked swiftly. "Surely he would not be summoned at such a time without due cause?"

Edward looked at her in disbelief. "No new news has reached us, only more of the same, but the continued situation with the rebels has prompted my father to seek a face-to-face meeting with all those involved with the Arizians," he said distractedly. "But are you not eager to see your father and others from your homeland?"

"Oh, yes, of course it will be lovely to see them again after such a long time," Isabella answered musingly. "But my father and I have never been close, nor have my mother and I. Regardless, I will welcome the chance to see them and perhaps Sir Jacob again."

"Who is Sir Jacob?" Edward asked, sounding panicked.

"He is the son of my father's chief advisor and a childhood friend of mine," she said, staring far off into the distance. "I expect my father will ask him and his wife to join him on the journey."

Edward let out a breath when he realized that this Jacob fellow was already married. "You are close with him, then?"

"Not as we once were," she answered. "The years, our sexes, and our respective stations did a fine job of disintegrating our relationship from childhood friendship to our current fond acquaintance. Nevertheless, I suspect that he shall be the person to whom I am closest in the entourage.

"But we did not ride out here to discuss my relationships with my various countrymen, my lord, and both our meals are nearly complete. What is it you so wanted to tell me?"

"I feel you know exactly what I wish to say," he answered both accusingly and evasively. "Else you would not be so familiar and carefree."

"Yet still you must say it," she said gently. "If it gives you a measure of comfort, I shall not interrupt whilst you speak till you have indicated that you are finished. But you must speak, for you have made no commitment as yet, to me or to yourself. Vocalizing your decisions makes them concrete."

"Yet I know not how to vocalize my thoughts in this matter, a situation to which I am unused," he sighed and paused before gathering himself and resuming. "My conclusions since our first conversation have been twofold yet akin: that I am woefully ill-prepared to rule and that I am not a man worthy of respect. Upon these realizations, I immediately wished to remedy both, but I wrestled over how each goal could be achieved.

"The most obvious solution to the former is to place myself under my father's tutelage, as he is by all accounts an able and good king. I have already taken steps to this end. It has also been brought to my attention that your own people think highly of you as a leader and that you will be a valuable asset to me as I rule. I hope to learn all I can from my father and also Jasper in the coming months and years, and I hope you will be by my side helping the process along.

"The latter issue has to do with my character rather than my knowledge, and it is that that I wrestled the most with. I wish to be one that my people are proud of, but I now know that they regard me more as a child than a future king. Perhaps I acted like a child, but none were brave enough to tell me so. But now that such a one has arisen and pointed out my mistakes, I wish to do right by her, by my people, and by myself. It is with that in mind that I now declare a severance from all women excepting my wife on aught but platonic levels. In fact, I intend to remove all my former lovers from court."

Though Isabella had promised to allow him to speak undisrupted, she at this point conveyed an expression of such disbelief that he felt compelled to acknowledge it. "What troubles you, my lady?" he asked in confusion.

"On what grounds do you intend to banish them from court, sire?" she asked shrewdly.

He sputtered for a moment. "I need no justification for my actions!" he declared. "I am the crown prince! I want them gone, and so it shall be. I thought you would be pleased with the suggestion?"

"Nothing would please me more than their absence," she said dryly. "But you forget two crucial facts. Firstly, you have no authority to banish them. Only the king and the queen have that authority. Secondly, they have committed no crimes for which we can excuse such action against them. Their only offense is copulating with you, and you cannot condemn them for that without revealing yourself to be the chief of hypocrites. And hypocrisy is not a desirable trait for a people to see in its leader."

"I care not what the country thinks regarding this matter!" he said, frustrated.

"You should; you must," she replied with exasperation. Then, seeing his distressed countenance and slumped shoulders, she realized that he was making positive changes, and she was berating him for all the things he was doing wrong. He needed affirmation, not criticism, at this junction. Her face and her tone softened. "But we can discuss the practicalities of your decision at a later time. I apologize for my timing; I do not wish you think you are married to a critical harpy who knows only how to censure. I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you will be cutting them from your life. It is the right move on all accounts, and I admire greatly that you came to the conclusion without coercion."

Edward's lips tilted up slightly, and his posture straightened with pride. "I will be faithful to you now," he said firmly. "I shall keep my vows and show the country that I am more than base instincts and insatiable appetites."

Isabella's smile dropped slightly. "Be careful before you promise me such devotion, sire," she said a bit sadly. "For once you have committed yourself to me, I shall not forgive a betrayal."

Edward looked at her for a moment, contemplating his next words. He was sincere in wanting to remain faithful to her, but could he truly succeed in the attempt? He had never tried to stifle his desires, so he knew not how he would fare. But what sort of man allows himself to be governed by frivolous pleasure rather that by his character and his choices? And what sort refuses to commit to something altogether good in order to allow himself an excuse should he fall? A coward, that's the sort of man. And though the crown prince was many things, he was no coward.

"I swear to you on the grave of my grandfather King Edward the First, you shall henceforth be my only bedmate until the end of my days," he said with conviction. "And I now ask your pardon for all the slights I have committed against you to this point. You have deserved neither my adultery nor my indifference."

"This may sound callous, but I forgive you easily, for I have had little emotion invested in you to this point," Isabella admitted. "And it may be some time before I am willing to invest more, as you must earn my trust before I can allow you hold such influence over me. But I do forgive what little discomfort I might have had at your hands."

Edward was unsure if he should be offended at her words but decided against it. After all, it was not as though he _wanted_ his actions to have caused her pain. And he had already known that time would be required for him to earn a place of importance to her.

"I understand and expected nothing less," he said seriously before his mouth tilted up into a mischievous grin. "Now regarding something you said before . . ."

"I suppose I should have expected this," Isabella mused exasperatedly, though her mouth twitched up as well.

"You asserted that our times in the bedchambers were drab not of necessity but rather of choice on both our parts," he continued as though he had not heard her. "You intimated that we could lie together and both enjoy it in ways that we have yet foregone. Do you stand by what you said?"

"I do," Isabella said immediately. "I would be thought wanton for saying so, but I see no reason why, since God has commanded our fidelity, He would expect us not to mutually enjoy our time together. I confess, though, that sensual pleasure is not a topic about which I know a great deal."

"Then I shall be your tutor in the carnal arts," he said, still with that impish twinkle in his eye. "I shall teach you such things and show you such pleasure as will make your heart stop in delirious revelry. Shall we start our lessons now?" He failed to conceal his eagerness, as he anticipated the coming months with her would be a grand adventure for them both.

"Not so hasty, my lord!" she cried, attempting to fight back the blush creeping across her skin. "A babe must learn to crawl before it can walk, and I have no desire for my first experience with carnal pleasure to be in broad daylight in the midst of a forest. Furthermore, I cannot imagine such a time as I would agree to such. I will never allow myself to be in a position where I could be discovered by another while indecently exposed, however unlikely the location to be discovered. I am still a future queen and being caught in the forest so with any man, even my husband, shall make me a laughingstock."

"I shall take that as a challenge then," the crown prince said with a cheeky grin. "But I see your point. Would you visit me in my chambers tonight, that we might explore one another for the first time?"

A thrill of nervousness crept over Isabella at his words, but she answered him bravely regardless. "I would be delighted, my lord."

* * *

That night as the castle slept, Isabella found herself in a simple nightgown outside her husband's chambers. She did not allow herself a pause but knocked on the door softly even as her stomach turned with uncertainty. She had never entered his bedchamber, as he had always come to her rooms, and she was unsure of the reason behind the location change.

"Enter," the confident voice of her husband rang out from the room, and she pushed aside her uneasiness and opened the door.

As she entered the his bedchamber, she noted that he had drawn the curtains and set alight several candles spaced strategically so that the room was dimly yet equally lit. She saw the dark wood bed frame covered in deep red blankets and had to suppress a gulp. Edward himself was lounging against a desk along the far wall wearing naught but a thin robe and a kind smile.

Isabella was keenly aware that this would be the first time that he would see her unclothed, and she feared that more than she feared seeing him similarly, as she was well-studied enough to understand the male physique and see it without embarrassment. He crossed the room toward her and tenderly took her in his arms.

"I can see the trepidation in your eyes, though you'd never own to it," he said softly. "I wish I could express satisfactorily why there is no need for it, though I know only time will allow you to believe that."

"I fear not you," Isabella said immediately. "Rather, I dislike the idea of venturing into the unknown with one that I barely know and don't truly trust as yet."

He felt a slight pang at her words but did not react to the hurt. Instead, he reached down and carefully grabbed the hem of her gown. Isabella's breath hitched, but she did nothing to stop him. He lifted it slowly, watching her face flash through emotions, until it was above her head. She raised her arms in compliance, and a moment later the dress met the ground nearly soundlessly.

Isabella did not attempt to cover herself, as she knew that that was the point of undressing so, but her eyes screwed shut against her every impulse to do so and her shoulders slumped inward defensively.

"You're beautiful," Edward whispered as he placed his hands on her shoulders and began massaging them. He kept his touches innocent for the moment as she adjusted. "I know you know that, but it is true of every inch of you. I know that this is uncomfortable for you, but we shall never enjoy each other as bedmates if we are not at ease with one another. We must learn to enjoy each other both in the carnal act but also in mere intimate embraces and soft kisses. So, with that in mind, may I kiss you, princess?"

Isabella opened her eyes and squared her shoulders, shaking off her vulnerability. "Yes, my lord, you may," she said boldly.

He leaned down and tenderly swept his lips across hers before drawing her by her shoulders toward him and wrapping her in a protective embrace. His tongue peaked out of his mouth to touch her lips, and she opened to him on a sigh. His tongue delved languidly into her mouth to tangle with hers as she adjusted to the feeling. He kept the kiss sensual rather than heated as he slowly guided her to the bed.

The next hour would hold fear, shyness, confusion, and pleasure in turn for the young princess as she learned much about her own body and that of her husband. The exhausted state in which she found herself following their slow and tender coupling left her unresisting when Edward carefully drew her into his arms. Her last thoughts before sleep claimed her were in realization that he had invited her to his chambers because he had planned for her to fall asleep in his bed and to wonder if the move was taken as part of his teaching her intimacy or because he genuinely wanted her to stay. She did not have the energy to contemplate further as she drifted off peacefully.

* * *

**There you have it. I'm not sure about the bedroom scene, but I tried and knew that it wasn't getting any better. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**I have had a couple people tell me that Carlisle should just refuse the give Edward the crown and instead give it to Jasper. I agree that Jasper would make a fine king, but Carlisle wouldn't throw out the rules of succession without good reason. If he were on his deathbed and Edward was still clueless, maybe he'd do something drastic like that. But since he's healthy and in his prime, he has time to teach Edward and allow him to learn how to be a good ruler. Also, Alice in no way could possibly be a queen. It'd be almost as big a disaster as Edward – as he was in the beginning – being king.**

**Up next: Isabella and Edward adjust to their new relationship dynamics, and Charles and his entourage arrive.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	11. Bridges Between Two Countries

**Hello, lovely readers! I'm sorry this chapter is late; I've been on vacation with my family, so I'm a little behind. Also, the creative juices haven't been flowing too well, so this chapter might be a little lackluster. I'm back now, though things might be touch and go for the next few weeks. My sister's getting married in August, so it'll be a little crazy. I'll try to keep on track as much as I can, though.**

**The reactions to last chapter overwhelmed me just a little. The opinions were many and diverse. Some think Edward was sweet; some think he treated her worse than his mistresses. Some think he's the lowest of the low; some think he's well on his way to redemption.**

**And it was almost universally agreed that the bedroom scene lacked detail. Unfortunately, I'm not comfortable getting any more explicit. The M rating is more for the rather frank discussion of sex with multiple people than anything else. It was just to be safe, but I'm open to changing it if you guys think I should.**

**That being said, I'm glad you all are engaged enough with this story to form such strong opinions of my characters, and I love hearing them. Please keep the reviews coming – the good and the bad.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

The court was abuzz with gossip and rife with confusion regarding the shifts in the royal family, particularly the crown prince. The topics of Isabella's trial and her vindication had not yet been exhausted when her husband added his own personal revolution into the fray. He had been acting oddly for some time, but the day following the picnic, his actions had turned drastic.

_He came to court with a distinctly purposeful air, gazing about in search of something. Once his eyes alighted upon Lady Kathryn, he carved a straight path through the courtiers toward her. Many who witnessed his sudden urgency shook their heads in indulgence and slight disappointment. They had hoped that recent events might shake the prince from his rakish ways._

_By the time he reached her, the eyes of all those present were on him. Some tried to watch discreetly, but most openly stared as he muttered something to the gaggle of girls that surrounded Lady Kathryn. They all simpered and giggled before flouncing away while the lady herself drew herself up in pride and with something akin to victory in her eyes._

_The court watched as her face and posture fell slowly as the prince spoke. Once he was finished, she rallied and turned a seductive smile on him as she replied. The prince's indifferent expression did not waiver, and he seemed to say something in dismissal. Her face became fearful as he walked away. She then saw the eyes of the court on her and turned red in embarrassment before striding from the room._

_Next, the prince located Lady Irina and strode toward her. Those with whom she had been conversing backed away before he even reached her, and her posture was far less confident than Kathryn's had been. The prince spoke with her as well, and she seem about to argue but was far too proud to show fear and embarrassment as Kathryn did. She merely drew herself up after the prince was done speaking and flounced off in the same direction as the first._

_Lastly, the prince made his way to Lady Tanya, who was wearing a look similar to that of a cat who had just eaten a particularly impressively-sized songbird. It was clear to all those watching that she expected to be named the prince's sole consort._

_But the process repeated itself in the same manner as before, and by the end of their interlude, she was pleading with and throwing herself at him. Finally, his face contorted sharply, and he seemed to say something rather biting. She recoiled as though slapped before dramatically and with loud wails running from the room in tears. None knew that the three all fled to the same location, where they were shortly joined by a smug Sir James._

That debacle had been two weeks ago, and the puzzled court knew not what to make of its crown prince's actions thereafter. He had not even glanced at the three since, and their popularity with the court had been all but obliterated. They were also befuddled by his near-constant presence at his father's side as the king carried out his official duties and in some cases Prince Edward's participation in them.

Of course, Isabella's popularity had only increased all the more with her presumed influence on the prince and her continued engagement with her people. And when the king was not fulfilling his royal duties, many often noted that both Isabella and Edward were absent from court. They could only surmise that the prince was spending time with his bride, a nearly universally pleasant notion.

Isabella, had, in turn, seemed to grow softer toward him in public. She still did not show the warmth of a woman in a happy marriage, but the frost that had coated her eyes when she looked upon him before had vanished.

None among them were willing to put all their hopes on these developments, but many were tentatively optimistic for the future of their kingdom.

Isabella, for her part, was pleased with his efforts. His dismissal of the mistresses was perhaps a bit less tactful than would have been wise, but she understood his reasoning to do so publicly rather than privately. Furthermore, he had been his father's veritable shadow in governance matters, and he had been learning much by watching and listening. The two, sometimes joined by the king's other sons, had also set apart a time each evening for discussion and questions of those things that had transpired throughout the day.

He had also been zealous with his pursuit of her favor. He set aside times for them to ride to the meadow together and held his tongue when she rode as a man on a beautiful black stallion called Ebony Flame.

And though they did not spend every evening together, they did spend most. Isabella felt sure that a child would soon take root in her belly. Though, supposing that Lady Rosalie's babe did endure, she was sure that their being pregnant at the same time would only foster more hatred from the bitter woman.

What Isabella had not expected when she agreed to engage in more adventuresome bedroom activities was her husband's linking of sexual exploration with emotional intimacy. As part of her "education," he continually tried to engender such a link in her mind as well, but she had no desire to become attached to him on such a basis.

She was a very logical person; she knew this about herself well. Emotions had their place, of course, but they had never been the bases of her decision-making or her problem-solving. He was doing many things well in earning her favor, so she was coming around steadily as he proved himself serious about his reform. But her strange and untamable emotions at night in the moments before sleep claimed her (it was no longer unusual for the servants to find them in the mornings in one another's arms) confused the issue. She found the phenomenon uncomfortable and unwelcome.

Her husband, on the other hand, could not understand her reticence in developing affection based on physical intimacy. For him, who had always acted on pure impulse, the ideas of separating emotion from action and logic from feeling were foreign, and he had no qualms with allowing himself to grow more enamored of her by the day. He felt closer to her through their intimacy, but she insisted on separating out her feelings for him from the physical act. He was at a loss as how to show her that the two could be intertwined.

Although he had never had an emotional connection with his mistresses, intimacy with Isabella was a different experience. Watching her blossom in his arms and showing her pleasures she had never imagined were a beautiful things. His growing affection for her was based on both her character and the moments they shared between them in his bedchamber. He was allowing his feelings to take course naturally, as he always had. Her refusal to do so frustrated him greatly.

He hardly had the time to contemplate such things, though, due to his continual engagement with his father. He had been his faithful companion as he meted out his royal duties. Edward had been inundated with information, and his father had been patient and thorough in explaining his decisions. Edward did not profess to find every facet of his future position to be riveting, but then again neither did the current king. But Edward was committed and soldiered through the tedious hours of useless pontificating by arrogant nobles with disproportionately high opinions of themselves and petty squabbles of neighboring farmers who could not settle on their property lines.

Granted, Edward was learning much about the difficulties associated with life outside the castle walls. Many of the peasants who came to his father were genuinely in distress, and he felt pangs of sadness for their plights. However, the ones who were disagreeable merely for the sake of causing contention with their fellow men ate at Edward's patience. He did not know where his father's reserves were stored, but he was unsure if he would ever have such a longsuffering disposition.

He had learned many things, among them how much there still was to learn. But he had no thoughts of abandoning the course he had set for himself. The stakes were far too high for that.

* * *

As it turned out, Prince Edward had allowed too much time for Lord Charles's arrival when he relayed the news to his wife. A mere sixteen days after Lord Eleazar had been dispatched, a herald arrived at the castle to announce that the noble party was to slumber that night in a village a mere half a day's ride from the castle and would arrive the next day. Accommodations had already been readied for the entourage, and the castle was soon abuzz with preparations for a welcoming feast.

The next afternoon found what looked like the entirety of the castle's occupants on its front steps awaiting the visitors. Isabella stood by her husband with the rest of the royal family, feeling a bit cheered that she was to see Arizian faces after so long in a sea of Englasians. The rest of her new family was tense with uneasiness.

Three carriages in all stopped in front of the gathered assembly, and the doors of the first two opened almost simultaneously. Out of the first stepped her father, who then turned and helped her mother, and Lord Eleazar after them. The two Arizians allowed their eyes to roam about as they took in the splendor of their once enemies. Finally, they turned their gaze on the royal family, scrutinizing them until their eyes fell on their daughter. Charles smiled a bit awkwardly, Renee's face lit up in joy, and Isabella gave the both of them genial smiles.

From the second carriage stepped five people in total. Isabella recognized the first three to emerge as long-standing members of her father's council: Lady Susan (wife to Lord William Black, travelling in his stead), Lord Demitri, and Lord Samuel. All were predictable choices to travel with Lord Charles as advisors.

Next stepped out Jacob, who assisted his wife Leah down before turning and beaming at his childhood friend. Though she did not break decorum, she smiled softly back at him.

Only an ignoramus could have overlooked the tension that had filled the air as the Arizians approached the Englasians. Edward felt even Isabella stiffen up beside him and soothingly rubbed small circles on the hand that was looped through his arm. For the first time since he had taken the throne, the former King Charles would be bowing to another, one whom he had considered to be an adversary no less. The show of humility he would have to put on, in front of his countrymen, left a bitter taste in the mouths of all the Arizians and some of the more compassionate Englasians among them, the king included. But they would never be able to move forward as one nation until the Arizians submitted themselves fully under the same banner and leadership as the Englasians.

The seven visitors stopped in front of the royal family, with Charles directly across from the king. Lord Eleazar slipped from the first party to the other without fanfare as attention was riveted on the other travelers.

"Your majesty," Lord Charles said softly. He closed his eyes briefly and took a breath before bending at his waist in an appropriate bow. His party waited until he was bowing before following suit. It seemed to the more astute among the Englasians that they were showing their continued loyalty to their former king by refusing to pay homage to another until he had first shown such allegiance.

"I thank you for your invitation," Charles continued, straightening up. The rest of the Arizians did as well and stepped back slightly. Renee remained by her husband's side and smiled politely at the king and queen.

"I trust the journey was agreeable?" the king said, hoping to dispense some of the stifling discomfort of the situation with familiar pleasantries. "You made very good time. We did not look to see you for another week at the least."

"Yes, Lord Eleazar rode hard for five days to reach us, and we were able finish preparations to leave only two days after he had delivered your message," Lord Charles answered. "And on the passage here the Lord granted fair weather and easy roads, so the journey took a mere ten days."

"Well you are welcome here," Carlisle said warmly, "and I hope your visit will be a productive one. Lady Renee, we have never met, but it is a delight to meet the lady about whom I've heard so much. Allow me to present my wife, Queen Esme."

So began the long process of diplomatic introductions on both sides, while Isabella waited with thinning patience to greet her parents and her friends.

Finally, all present were introduced to one another, and her father turned to where she stood by Edward's side. He strode toward her and stopped once he reached her. "My beautiful daughter," he said with a touch more emotion than she had expected from him. He then drew her into his embrace. "It is wonderful to see your face once more."

"It is good to see you too, Papa," she answered softly while returning his hug. A swell of emotion ran through her as a familiar sense of home rose up.

"My darling girl!" Renee cried and flung herself at the two. "How I have missed you these long months!"

"I'm sure you haven't been too lonely, Mama," she chuckled. "I am thrilled to be reunited with you."

The three, realizing that they were dangling on a precipice of impropriety, relinquished one another after a long moment and stepped back into their respective places.

Lord Jacob then addressed the princess. He did not approach for a hug in this public and formal place, but she knew he would seek her out later for a more familiar exchange. "My lady, you manage to seem exactly the same as you were when you left and to have aged years in the interim at the same time," Jacob said to Isabella with a smile.

"I know not what you babble about, Lord Jacob," she said with a small smile. "I have changed no more or less than is natural for one in my position. You, on the other hand, have added more height to your stature than can be depicted as anything other than queer in a man your age."

"We shall compare notes at a later time, then," Jacob smilingly. "The last several months our lives shall provide much conversation and amusement to one another, I'm sure."

"I look forward to it, then," Isabella smiled.

Edward watched his wife interact with those from her country in a more familiar and relaxed way than he had ever seen her treat an Englasian. It was refreshing to see that her constant need to rigidly control her every waking action was not a permanent personality trait. It gave him hope for her relationship with his countrymen to see her so amiable.

Suddenly, an abrasive voice rang out from the Charles and Renee's carriage. "Is it safe to emerge, or are there still pleasantries being exchanged?"

Isabella's face lit up in a way that none in the Englasian party had ever seen. "Leonardo!?" she shouted before disentangling herself from her husband and striding toward the carriage.

"Isabella, make yourself useful and help an old man down," the voice said before its owner appeared at the door. The royal family watched in confusion and the Arizians with indulgence as an extremely old man with a stooped back and fleecy hair was helped out of the carriage by the princess.

"Whatever are you doing here, Leo?" she cried, her face radiant.

"You didn't think I'd miss out on the chance to see my favorite pupil again, did you?" the man she called Leonardo asked matter-of-factly.

"Yet I distinctly recall the medic telling you that you were no longer strong enough to travel," she chided with a fond smile.

"I choose to obey the wisdom of God rather than the wisdom of men," he replied sagely.

"Oh, so divinity commanded you to my side?" she laughed, more genuinely than most of those present had ever seen.

"Divinity certainly didn't prevent it, as your meddling father attempted to," he grumbled.

The royal family gaped at this man with the audacity to say such things in their presence and mock his leader so casually. Carlisle cleared his throat. "I do not believe we've had the pleasure of being introduced," he said diplomatically.

"I apologize, your majesty," Isabella said, cutting off the words that the old man had opened his mouth to utter. "This is Leonardo, my childhood tutor and closest friend. I was not expecting him to be a part of the entourage, so the surprise made me forget myself. And you'll have to excuse him, as he seems to have forgotten that he is in a foreign court and will not be allowed the same liberties to which he is accustomed."

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, majesty," Leonardo said with a sweeping bow first at the king and then the queen. "I look forward to becoming more familiar with you in the coming days."

"The pleasure is mine," the king said, looking still leery of this irreverent old man. He turned as though to start the introductions all over again but seemed to decide against it. After all, the man did stay in the carriage specifically to avoid such encounters. "Shall we retire to the dining hall? The staff has prepared quite the spread. I trust you'll find it to your liking."

With that, the party turned and began ascending the steps. All were wary of one another except Lady Isabella and Lord Eleazar, the bridges between the two countries. Conversation was light and polite, but none yet spoke aught but trivialities for the time being. Isabella's heart was full to bursting for the first instance in quite some time, but she was also mildly apprehensive of how these two parts of her life would combine. She knew not what was to come, but she did know that the next days would not be boring ones.

* * *

**There you have it. It's a bit of a filler chapter, but I hope you liked it anyway.**

**For the record, Leonardo is not based on anybody in the real world that now has or has had in the past that name. I just needed a wise old tutor for Isabella, and I couldn't think of anybody in the Twilight universe that would really fit that bill. And I just couldn't call him anything but Leonardo in my head for some reason. So it stuck.**

**And I know I reversed the stereotypical genders roles a bit with Edward attaching more emotion to the sex than she is. It's just how I see my characters, coming from their respective backgrounds and past actions, reacting to the situation. **

**Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**Up next: Isabella bonds with her family and Leonardo. Expect some insight to her mind from her conversation with the latter.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	12. The Call of the Night Sky

**Hello, lovely readers! Yes, I'm terribly late, and the chapter's not even that long. I could bore you with all the reasons that real life is overwhelming me right now (and there are many), but I know you want to get to the story. Hope you enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

The feast in the guests' honor passed in a blur of decadent food, festive performances, and light conversation. It was understood among all present that graver matters would be left for the morrow.

Isabella, though she played the part of the carefree royal beautifully, was internally eager for the meal's end that she might enjoy time with her countrymen. In turn Edward, who was slowly becoming more attuned to his wife's moods and tells, marked her preoccupation, though only Leonardo shared his observation.

"What troubles you, my lady?" he leaned in and asked quietly as the company's chatter buzzed about them. "Is the food not to your liking?"

Isabella looked at him a moment, surprised that he had noticed her mood. "The food is delicious as always, my lord," she said finally. "I am merely eager to retire with my family. I was a maiden and an Arizian the last time I saw them. Much has changed in the intervening months, though it feels as though it has been years, and I am keen to discuss the events in both our castles since."

He nodded, pondering her words. He was uncomfortable with the knowledge that most of the events she had at her disposal to relay would reflect poorly on him, and he did not wish her family to have cause to dislike him.

That thought drew him up short. Mere weeks ago, he was relishing in Lord Charles's humiliation and the downfall of Arizia. Now, he was anxious of what his wife could say to the man that might turn his opinion in an unsavory direction. He decided to ponder his attitude toward the Arizians in a more private setting later, as it seemed that he would not be spending the evening with his wife.

After another round of pleasantries exchanged among the two parties, the feast finally came to a close. The native Arizians retired to the sitting room attached to the chambers that Charles and Renee were using.

"Oh, my darling," Lady Renee started dramatically once they had all seated themselves comfortably about the room. "It has been so long! You are a married woman and have been all alone with these Englasians. I do not know how you've managed!"

"Mama, it has not been as bad as all that," Isabella chided gently. "My reception was cool at best, I'll own, but things have improved greatly in my relations with these people in recent weeks. They are not barbarians, you know. Well, not all of them at any rate."

"Has your husband been good to you?" Charles asked stiffly.

"Father, we both knew long before I left Arizia that my husband would not earn any accolades for his behavior in the role," she said with a small smile. "But though the prince and I had a rather difficult start, we are working toward an amiable accord."

Jacob interjected. "Indeed, I would fear being married to you and bearing your animosity," he said with a smile. "You are a rather terrifying creature."

"And you are amusing nobody with your mockery of my person," Isabella returned with an ill-concealed smile of her own.

The hours wore on with such banter, sometimes gay and sometimes grave. Isabella, though she avoided the details of her husband's exploits, told them of Lady Lauren's antics with the letter and of her own subsequent spike in popularity in Englasia. The rest of the party told her of the happenings in Arizia, the people's changing attitude toward them and specifically toward the king, and the rebels' ability to spread discord among the people. It was nothing that Isabella hadn't been told by Eleazar and Edward, but the new perspectives shed light on the hurt felt by all in the room at many of their people's turning against them.

They also brought the joyous news of the babe growing in Leah's womb and the engagement of her brother Seth to a Lady Elisa. To Isabella's delight, they also relayed the news that Seth was to arrive at the castle any day, having travelled separately from the group. He had had business that he was required to complete before he could leave the country and thus did not depart with the other delegates. Isabella, who was fond of if not close with the boy on the cusp on manhood, eagerly anticipated his arrival.

Leonardo was strangely silent throughout the night, though Isabella knew he'd seek her out at a later time for a more intimate and frank discussion. Their relationship had always been private, as he was the person she trusted the most in the world and the one who kept all her secrets. The group would be in Englasia for a week, and she knew she had plenty of time to steal with him.

The elder delegates from Charles's council did not add much to the conversation either, willing to allow the closer friends and family to catch up with the beloved princess. They were content to listen to the conversation and witness the happiness that the reunion brought to all parties involved.

After many tales, much laughter, and some sadness, the party decided that their respective beds were calling and departed, knowing that the morn would bring more time together.

* * *

"Isabella," a voice whispered in her ear. "Isa, wake up, my dear. The night sky calls to us."

Isabella groggily opened her eyes and rolled over the face a fully dressed Leonardo wearing a large grin.

"Leonardo, you cannot possibly mean to take me out of bed at this hour," she said with a glance out the window at the star-spangled sky.

"I have done so on many occasions, my dear," he responded brightly. "Why should this one be any different?"

"In the past, you were my tutor, and I was a child in a loving court," she answered sleepily, "Now I am a married woman in a court whose favor is fickle at best. 'Tis no longer proper."

"Oh, hang propriety," Leonardo said immediately. "We have much to discuss, and the stars have e'er been witness to our talks and our secrets. Or has your new situation caused you to lose your sense of adventure and your individuality?"

"I have lost neither my sense of self nor my sense of adventure, and I'll thank you for not insinuating so," Isabella said, more awake now that he was pushing the buttons he knew so well.

"Then why are we sitting here, in a room decorated to suite the tastes of others, while you refuse to participate in one of your favorite pastimes on the basis of what others might think?" he asked, knowing the matter was already settled.

"You remind me why I have always avoided arguments with you," Isabella said with a smile. "One can never outwit the person who taught them how to think. Now turn around while I prepare myself."

After Isabella had dressed and gathered blankets from her wardrobe, she led her mentor swiftly and soudlessly through the castle, along routes that she expected would be empty. They made it out a servant's entrance with no trouble and made for the forest at a brisk pace. She led him to a small clearing where she and Edward had often spent mornings when time forbade them from going to their meadow.

They both set out a blanket and lay on their backs as they gazed at the stars. For several minutes, they simply enjoyed once again experiencing their long-held tradition.

Finally, Leonardo broke the silence. "I can see you cataloguing the stars, as though greeting them after a long absence," he said. "It troubles me to think of your ceasing to expand your intellectual horizons and failing to preserve the ones you've already conquered. I hope that, no matter what you do or who you become, you never lose your thirst for knowledge. And I hope you always take time to behold the stars, that they might remind you how small you are."

"The stars will ever make me feel small," Isabella responded. "I simply have had no time to appreciate them."

"Yes, so you disclosed to your family when you explained how frightfully busy you've been," he said. "Are you going to tell me the full story?"

"I don't know where to start, Leo," she said on a sigh.

"Do you regret your decision to come here?" Leonardo asked directly.

"No, not for a moment," Isabella responded. "I know you are the reason my father held off choosing a husband for me long past what is conventional, and I know you were hoping that I would someday be able to choose my queen-consort based on affection. I will never be able to thank you enough for your influencing him to wait, even though your original purpose was not realized. Providence knew that I would need to stay alone until such a time as my marriage could save my people."

"But what of your husband?" he asked. "I did not save you from a union with an Arizian pansy that you might marry an Englasian cad."

"He had four mistresses when we wed," Isabella said with a wry smile.

"Indeed?" Leonardo said mildly. He was the one to tell her, in no uncertain terms, how most men viewed their marriage and their wives.

"Yes, and his lack of political understanding was quite appalling," Isabella said. "I was cold to him for the first three months, and he eventually lost patience with my reticence. When he confronted me about my attitude toward him, I gave him quite a candid evaluation of his character. Through further discussion with me and with his kin, he has since dropped the mistresses and begun to educate himself on his future role."

"So you've made quite the impression on him," Leonardo prompted.

"Yes, and he now has begun a campaign to win my affections," Isabella said exasperatedly. "He takes me to a meadow in these woods, prepares picnics, and attempts to woo me in the bedchamber."

With any other person, she would never speak so freely of her intimate relationship with her husband. But this was Leonardo, the man who had taught her about the human body and all its capabilities. Her mother had given her the standard, vague, simplistic explanation given to all girls of her station, and Isabella had feigned ignorance on the matter to avoid a conflict regarding the liberties Leo had taken in her education. But she had been fully aware of what is involved in the coupling between a man and a woman long before her engagement had been negotiated.

"You speak as though you cannot contemplate a fate worse than an affectionate relationship with your husband," Leonardo said, still prompting further discussion from her rather than adding to the conversation.

Isabella propped herself up on her elbow that she might look into her mentor's face as her voice grew more vehement. "I have always hoped one day to have an amicable relationship with him," she said. "But I have little reason to trust him after only a few weeks of reform. Moreover, he seems to think that emotional attachment is a vital supplementary ingredient in conjugal relations and that, by the same token, conjugal relations should foster deeper emotional attachment."

"And you do not feel closer to him through your physical pursuits?" Leonardo asked.

"I admit that I experience confusing feelings when we are alone together in that way," she conceded, "but that is not the foundation upon which I wish to build a relationship. When you taught me what happens between a man and a wife, I accepted it as a physical, sometimes enjoyable, task given to a man and a woman to procreate. I thought it to be simply another facet of marital life. I did not expect it to have a profound impact on his or my thinking or on our affections. Is it not unwise to place one's heart in another's hands based solely on chemical reactions rather than on true merit?"

"My dear, the two are not mutually exclusive," Leonardo said with a small laugh. "You can learn to care about him based on tender private moments and also grow a fully logical and respectful appreciation for him due to his character and actions."

"But what happens when I allow myself to yield my heart to him, only for him to, say, fall back into the arms of a mistress?" Isabella said in a small voice. The fear was one of her greatest, and she would never have voiced it to anyone in the world save Leonardo. "What happens when he no longer feels he has to work for my affections because they are already won and falls back into the self-serving and egocentric patterns to which he is used? I cannot allow him to irrevocably alter me in such a way until I have absolutely no doubts that his changes of late are permanent ones."

"I do not disagree with you," Leonardo said. "But will there ever come a time when, based purely on reason, you will be able to conclude that he is fully reformed and will never again fall on old vices? I fear you shall never get to such a point until you surrender your emotions at least to some extent, even should such a concession be known only to you. For only then will you achieve the one thing that is needful for you to fully believe in him, and it is possibly the most illogical thing in the universe."

Isabella knew he was fishing for a curious prompt from her, and she humored him with a small smile. "And what would that be, Leo?"

"Faith, my dear," Leonardo answered solemnly, "Tis the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith has the curious effect of making real our intangible thoughts and imaginings. Perhaps what your Edward needs is the faith of one dear to him for his success to be reality."

"But faith, when proven misplaced, is not something that can be rebuilt easily, or in some cases at all," Isabella said quietly. "I suppose I fear, more than anything, giving him my trust only for him to fall and our concord as husband and wife and as future king and queen to be ruined forever."

"Only you know your own self and his person well enough to know how far your relationship can be tested before it crumbles," Leonardo deferred. "I pray you only take my words under advisement, that you not permanently place yourself in a state of aloof unhappiness. For gratification in the role life assigns you and preparedness for the challenges that await you were ever my only wishes for you."

From thence, the two redirected their attention to the stars. He quizzed her on their names and the constellations that housed them, and she reveled in the deep sense of fond familiarity the exercise fostered. Many times their thoughts and conversation drifted off the topic at hand and onto memories of her childhood in Arizia and of countless other nights under the same stars, during a simpler time when the world was Isabella's to discover and boundless opportunities awaited her. Now, with her fate and role in life set for better or worse, those times seemed all the more distant.

An hour before the sun was to rise, and therefore the servants to start their days, the two quietly made their ways back to the castle and through the passages they had traversed mere hours ago. Isabella took leave of him at her chamber door and swiftly changed back into her night wear before collapsing into bed for a few hours of slumber, her mind spent and her heart full.

* * *

**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**I realize that it is a stretch for a princess to be able to sneak out of a castle in the dead of night. I plead artistic liberty with this, but here's how I view it: In Arizia, it was the castle's worst-kept secret that they went out at night, but they all loved them both and indulged them. In Englasia, nobody would ever imagine that they'd try something like that, so nobody was on the lookout for escapees from the castle. Isabella is also just very clever and observant and knows the castle better than anybody would expect.**

**I've had several people asking me very persuasively not to abandon this story. I know that the updates have been coming slower recently, but they will pick up again after my sister's wedding. But just so we're clear: I ****_absolutely_**** plan to finish this fic, and I give you all full permission to keep me accountable to that. I don't know if I'll take on any more projects after it's done, but I do promise to finish this at least.**

**Up next: The delegation gets down to business. **

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	13. On the Path to Maturity

**Hello, lovely readers! Thank you so much for your patience as my life got crazy and the updates ceased. And thank you especially to the guest reviewer who reviewed to make sure I was alright after I dropped off the radar. But my sister is now officially someone's wife, and all the out-of-towners have returned to their homes. So things should be more consistent from here on out.**

**Now, I know I said that in this chapter the delegation would get down to business, but I decided to give them a little chapter to rest from their journey and add in some conversations I hadn't planned (some of them suggested by you). Hope you enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

The next morn dawned far too brightly for Isabella, but she dragged herself out of her comfortable bed. Her faithful maids sensed her mood and completed their duties in near silence, and Isabella then braved the corridors to make her way to the morning meal.

Her demeanor was markedly subdued, though polite and pleasant as ever. All noticed the change, and some wondered after it, but none questioned her directly save her husband, who was becoming bolder with the liberties he allowed himself.

"I fear you had not a restful eve, my lady," he murmured into her ear.

"I spent much of it with my countrymen, my lord," she answered loftily without looking at him, neither lying nor telling the truth.

"Yet they appear perfectly alert," he pressed, "while you wage war with your eyelids."

Isabella turned to look at him, and her eyes roved over his face. After several seconds of scrutiny, she finally spoke. "At the conclusion of the meal, let us go to our usual meeting room, yes?" she asked.

Edward nodded slowly, though her request made him wary. The conversations in that room were always those they wished no others to hear, and he could not fathom what could have kept her up at night that would require such privacy in the retelling.

The day was to be a light one for the travelers, one to rest before they dove into the nasty business that brought them. Isabella waited for the end of the meal before she spoke to the rest of the party. "Mama, Papa," she said sweetly. "My dear husband and I have some business to attend to at present, but we will meet you in your chambers to spend time with you shortly."

Her husband's head whipped around to stare at her. He had no desire to spend time with her family beyond what was required by propriety and by the purpose of their visit. But his wife acted as though she was oblivious to his penetrating gaze and simply rose, still smiling sweetly. He grudgingly followed suit, having no ideas of how to contradict her statement without showing himself to be horribly rude, and offered her his arm. The rest of the party rose as well, and the dining hall emptied slowly.

Once he had safely escorted his wife to the privacy of the unused sitting room, Prince Edward dropped all semblance of cheerfulness and collapsed on a couch, giving his wife an annoyed glare.

"First you will explain your drowsiness, which none else at the table seemed to share," he started. "And then you will account for the morning with your family to which you have condemned me."

Isabella strode to the couch across from his and took a seat, studying his face again and pondering her next words. He was truly aggravated, that was obvious, but she saw no true ire in his stare. She decided to proceed cautiously nonetheless.

"I have never lied to you, my lord," she started calmly, "and I do not intend to begin now. But neither do I believe you are ready to hear all there is to know about me. I have been deliberately and slowly introducing you to the less conventional aspects of my person for a good reason. And though I have done nothing to deserve your wrath, I fear you will assign it to me in this case because you do not fully understand my character."

Edward looked away, considering her words carefully. She clearly thought the truth would incite his anger, and that worried him. But she had indeed never lied to him, and he was sure that she truly believed that anger would be misplaced in this case.

"I will not promise not to become angry," he told her, his eyes returning to her face. "I will promise to give you a fair hearing, one I intend to be given. I would rather be gifted with unpleasant truths than left in the dark."

Isabella briefly considered commenting upon the irony of that statement in view of the treatment most men bestowed upon their women. But she quickly rejected the idea as ancillary and distracting from the matter at hand. After the errant thought was discarded, the voice of Leonardo from the night before started ringing in her ear, telling her to take a leap of faith. This was a comparatively small one, she reasoned, perhaps a trial run to see if she landed well.

"I was with Leonardo," she said bluntly, gauging his reaction carefully. "We went a short ways into the forest to stargaze and talk privately."

His stunned face gave her little encouragement, but it did not discourage her either. "We spoke at length of my time here, and he advised me as he is wont to do," she forged on. "It is a pastime of ours from my youth, and it is one I relish. Nothing untoward happened last night or any other evening we have spent alone together under the stars, but we were indeed alone together, a situation that I am sure would not be smiled upon by any in this court."

Edward was still speechless, so Isabella, rather than babbling like a fool, waited patiently in silence as he digested.

"I cannot comprehend what you just told me," he finally said. "I never thought I would have reason to doubt your faithfulness, but sneaking about with another man hardly supports your claims of fidelity."

"As I said, I have never lied to you," Isabella said frankly. "And indeed, had something unseemly happened, I am far too clever to tell you of the clandestine meeting. For whether you believe me or no, you will at some level be more keenly aware of my interactions with him from this point. Were I involved in a dalliance with him, I would be doing all I can to direct your attention elsewhere."

Edward stared at her for several uncomfortable moments for Isabella. "I believe you when you say nothing untoward happened," he said finally, sounding almost defeated. Isabella was confused by the downtrodden countenance he bore. "You are many things, my lady, but a liar is not among them. I ask only that, in the future, such meetings be made known to me in advance."

When he saw her objections poised and ready to spew from her lips, he raised his hand. "I do not wish to accompany you," he said. "I merely wish to ensure that such rendezvous remain undiscovered. As you said, it would be catastrophic should they be known to the court, and I trust Sir Benjamin to be discreet should I ask him to assist you in your secrecy."

Isabella stared at him curiously. He puzzled her at this moment, and it was a feeling to which she was unused. She had never dreamed that he would simply accept her declaration without the slightest hint of argument and no real anger. Rather, he seemed unaccountably demoralized by the whole affair, and he furthermore insisted on helping them in the future.

"I have no objections. I will speak with Leonardo," she said slowly. After a small pause, she added, "I appreciate your understanding."

Edward gave an indistinct grunt in reply before changing the subject. "Now, as for the other matter we must attend to."

"Ah yes," Isabella said with a small quirk of her lips. "I find your unwillingness to meet with my family a bit insulting, actually."

"I have no reason to meet with them, Isabella," he said exasperatedly, gaining back some life into his carriage. "I will converse with them all when we discuss the rebels, but there is no need to interact in a private social situation with them."

"Edward, I have spent the last several months among your family, studying them and _interacting_ with them with no one to help me navigate, trying to build lasting relationships with them," Isabella said, suppressed vulnerability in her eyes. "Can you not make some small reciprocal effort with mine? They are a large part of who I am and matter a great deal to me."

"Well it appears that I do not have an option at this point," he said agitatedly. "Perhaps now is not the time to discuss this after all. I find myself in too sore a disposition. Let us depart for the chambers where we are to meet them."

"Please," Isabella prodded, alarmed at his state, "at least make some effort to form an amiable relationship with my kin and countrymen."

"Worry not," he grumbled. "I shall be perfectly pleasant. Let us go, now."

Isabella nodded hesitantly, and both rose. He offered his arm in stony silence, and from thence the only sounds between them preceding their arrival at Charles and Renee's chambers were the slam of the door as they exited and their soft footfalls echoing through the halls.

* * *

The same group as had gathered in her parents' chambers the evening before was once again convened with the addition of a cautious crown prince. He had, as promised, done away with his surly demeanor and adopted a more cheery one, but nothing about his person or in the way the others in the room regarded him indicated comfort.

The conversation had been polite yet stiff for the half hour or so since Isabella and Edward had entered the room, as all were making valiant efforts to avoid potentially inflammatory topics. Since almost all common interests and experiences had that potential, the speech was stilted and the pauses long.

Isabella searched her mind for a neutral topic that would interest all, and her thoughts landed on a small piece of gossip that her maids had relayed to her recently. She wasn't one for gossip, but her mother was, and as this particular piece involved people close to both herself and her husband, she hoped it would engage enough people to relax the atmosphere.

"Oh, Edward, have I told you how sore I am that one of your groomsmen seems intent on stealing away one of my handmaidens?" Isabella asked lightly, almost teasingly.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, it seems that their small interaction during my trial had quite the impact on our dear Sir Benjamin and Angela," she said with a smile.

"They have been conversing since?" Edward asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yes, they have," Isabella said eagerly. "And it seems that Sir Benjamin has asked the king's permission to court her. Her family died years ago in a horrible fire in their home, so the king granted permission in her father's stead. So some good came of that horrid day after all."

"Oh, how romantic!" Lady Renee gushed. "Seeing one another in passing but never actually speaking. A passing glance, a fleeting curiosity, but no contact. Forced to finally see one another through a sordid plot to murder royalty, and the love blossoms from there."

She gave an airy sigh as her daughter strove to hide the exasperation her mother's antics provoked.

"I was unaware they had spoken since that day," Edward said. "I suppose you will need to find another handmaiden should they wed."

"A situation which seems more likely each day. So I shall lose a valued handmaiden yet you shall keep your trusted groomsman," Isabella sighed playfully. "Ah, the injustice of it all."

"When the need to find a new handmaiden arises, I promise to assist you in choosing another," her husband rejoined, just as playfully. "To assuage some of the sting of inequality you are sure to suffer."

It wasn't the wittiest of interludes on either of their parts – Isabella knew that – but it had the intended effect of lightening the atmosphere by several shades. Their comfortable familiarity, while not the doting affection one would hope for, softened her kin to her husband significantly. They trusted Isabella's judgment, and her amiability toward him spoke volumes to them. Also, the way he treated their princess with respect and obvious fondness warmed their hearts toward him.

After another twenty minutes, feeling that all that could be accomplished for the morning had been, Isabella decided to break up the meeting.

"I fear that I cannot linger any longer," Isabella said at a break in conversation, standing up and pulling her husband with her. "The king has requested an audience with me. I shall see you all at the noon meal."

The rest expressed their sadness to see her go and their farewells. Leonardo rose as well, declaring that his presence was also required.

Once in the corridor with the door firmly closed behind them, Isabella turned to her mentor with a sly smile. "I distinctly recall the king's voice as he told me he desired a _private_ audience with me," she said in mock chastisement. "You were not extended an invitation, and I am sure the king would not welcome an attempt to secure one by ambush."

"I merely said my presence is required, princess," he said solemnly. "I failed to mention where. It has been a full hour since breakfast, and I need to be in the kitchens post haste."

Isabella shook her head indulgently and was about to point him in the correct direction when, to her shock, her husband spoke.

"I can show you the way, my good sir," he said hurriedly. "I have nowhere to be, and it is no trouble."

Isabella stood with her mouth gaping, thoroughly stunned. She could not fathom a reason that her husband could wish to be alone with her mentor, except it be to speak of the outing the evening previous.

Leonardo, for his part, was regarding the crown prince with a shrewd and calculating look.

"I would be honored, your highness," he said, his tone more serious than Edward had heard to that point. "We will see you at the luncheon, Isa."

She regarded the pair of them cautiously before replying. "Very well," she finally said. "Have a pleasant time until then."

With that, she turned on her heel and strode away regally, trying to seem unaffected by what she was leaving behind.

"The kitchens are this way," the prince said, pointing in the opposite direction his bride had taken.

The two started down the corridor in silence. Edward's countenance was uncomfortable, Leonardo's pensive. Finally, the braver of the two decided to break it.

"You did not offer to personally lead me to your kitchens out of the goodness of your heart, my lord," Leonardo pointed out bluntly. "What is it that prompted such generosity?"

"Isabella told me what happened last eve," Edward returned with equal bluntness, regaining some courage now that the conversation had started.

"Indeed?" Leonardo said with mild surprise, his eyebrows rising. "I admit I did not expect that. I was not under the impression that she trusted you with such secrets."

"I – persuaded her," Edward said. "She was reluctant to speak, but I demanded an answer."

"And she complied?" Leonardo asked.

"She complied," he said dully.

"Nonetheless, you seem neither angry nor threatening toward me," Leonardo observed. "So you must have taken her at her word that 'twas all innocent."

"I have never had reason to doubt her word," Edward said. "That is not what troubles me."

Leonardo said nothing but rather waited for him to continue at his own readiness. Their pace had slowed to that of a snail, prolonging the conversation at hand.

"Did you know that she rides as a man?" Edward asked suddenly. "Her horse. She sits astride it. And she refuses to ride a perfectly healthy mare. She insists on a stallion."

"Of course I knew such," Leonardo said cautiously. "I taught her to ride, with the assistance of a young man named Seth. I am too old to mount and ride a horse, of course."

"'Tis your fault, then," Edward said musingly, though there was no heat behind it.

"I apologize if I seem dense, sire, but I cannot discern your point," Leonardo said slowly.

"I made many mistakes in the early months of our marriage, sir," Edward said tiredly. Leonardo nodded to show he knew what he meant. "My decision to reform brought with it a desire to win Isabella's affections. Clearly, this meant a change in the way I treated her. As with the horse, I started bending to her will in almost all matters, even when I disagreed. But these small allowances, deferring to her in every matter, have begun to take their toll.

"I feel that I have no control in my own relationship, and last night was the culmination. She runs out of the castle with another man, even chastely, without having the decency to inform me. And this morn, she declares before all the dining hall what be our plans for the morning without so much as a glance in my direction.

"I truly wish for her to grant me entrance into her life, but then what will mine entail if this is my method?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Continually pandering to her every whim until death do us part? Sacrificing my own voice in our relationship?"

Leonardo watched him for several beats as he pondered his response. "Why did you seek me out?" he finally responded, feeling this was crucial.

"You know her best," Edward said immediately. "More to the point, she trusts you, and she clearly values your opinion. I hoped to gain some insight and some council from someone my wife values as she does you."

"Then council you shall have, though I must request a stay of status considerations," Leonardo said. "We cannot discuss such things frankly except we be on equal footing, and I cannot assess such things honestly with fear of repercussions looming o'er me like a noose."

"This conversation shall have no consequences, I swear it," Edward said earnestly.

"Very well then," Leonardo sighed as he gathered his thoughts. "The first thing you ought to know is that Isabella is aware that you still have a long journey ahead of you to become the man you should be. She pushes you because she hopes to help you grow at a more rapid pace than you might otherwise. This morning was a perfect example. Meeting with us Arizians was a necessary step on your way to maturity, one that you may have taken years to make if left to your own devices. Instead, she pushed you into the situation because she knew you could handle it. And you did, beautifully. Great strides were made today, both for you personally and for your relationship with your wife and her family.

"You should also realize that she has no intention of allowing you to dictate who she is. She leaves no room for argument regarding the horses because it is in her very character to ride freely as she does, and she will not have you altering it. She snuck out without informing you because she knew you would attempt to stop her, even though sitting under the night skies is a favorite pastime of hers and she needed to seek my council. She is guarding herself from losing any part of her to her relationship with you by excluding you from her decisions completely."

"And you think this is a sustainable manner of life for the both of us?" Edward asked incredulously.

"Heavens no!" Leonardo exclaimed. "I merely recounted the situation as it stands! No, the present state of affairs is entirely unhealthy for both of you individually and for your roles as husband and wife. It is made far more difficult to correct, however, by the facts that she has proven herself to be wiser and cleverer than you and that you have made grave errors for which you are seeking reconciliation. She holds all power by your choice, by hers, and by circumstance."

"So I am to simply endure the state of things until I've learned to be a proper leader and I've atoned for my sins against her fully?" Edward asked dully.

Leonardo chuckled. "That would be a neat trick," he said. "But no, that was not my meaning. You have proven yourself willing to change and hopeful for an affectionate relationship with her, even if the journeys to such are still in progress. She knows these things. And there is a key truth that the both of you forget in all this: she is human. Ergo she is not perfect. Ergo she will make mistakes, though perhaps not as egregious as your own."

"And I am to start pointing out her flaws?" Edward questioned skeptically. "That seems counterproductive to earning her favor."

"I do not suggest telling her in so many words whene'er you believe her to be wrong," Leonardo said with a touch of exasperation. "But neither should you bow to her judgment in all things. If you disagree with a decision she has made, do not take it as infallible. Challenge it. Make her explain herself. Remind her that you a person, her husband no less, rather than the horse upon which she rides – serving an integral role yet unable to argue with her direction. You, unlike the beast, have a voice, and you should do both of you the courtesy of utilizing it."

"So your advice is to argue with her when I think she is wrong?" Edward asked in confusion.

"Exactly!" Leonardo trumpeted. "It will allow her to grow as well, for I will not be here much longer to facilitate such. And, of course, she still might be in the right and triumph in many cases, but I do not suspect that they would be all. And I do not advise making a great deal out of trivial matters, either. Choose matters that trouble you to a substantial extent, as this horse issue seems to do. Perhaps, in this way, you each will learn about the other, and mutual respect will grow."

Edward nodded in silence once Leonardo had concluded, and neither spoke again until they reached their destination.

"Well, here are the kitchens, my good sir," he said graciously. "I thank you for your words and your insight, but now I must leave you. Good day."

"Good day, sire," Leonardo responded. And with that, they went their separate paths.

* * *

Isabella agitatedly made her way to the entrance hall, the king beside her. They were just concluding their meeting when a servant came to announce that Lord Seth was to arrive shortly, so they set off to greet him together. The king had summoned her to update her on the state of affairs that had been discussed among him, his sons, and Lord Eleazar. Most things she knew, and she was at the beginning grateful for yet confused by the meeting.

King Carlisle had gone on to explain that part of the true reason for this summit was so that her people, who lamented the loss of her leadership greatly, might be told that she still was involved in their governance. He told her he wished to hear her thoughts during the meetings to the greatest extent possible.

She now felt the weight of burden pressing down on her to help her people, who were enduring widespread suffering due to the exploits of a few. She could not see how she was to make a significant impact on their troubles when all others had failed.

She shook her head slightly and straightened her shoulders as they neared the entrance hall. She would ponder more deeply these things at a later date. For the moment, she had smiles to bestow and an old acquaintance to greet. Bringing her countenance into submission, she strode with her father-in-law into the hall, her head high and her visage radiant.

* * *

**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**I was asked this question last chapter, and I wanted to clarify in case anybody else had similar thoughts. There was NEVER anything sexual between Leo and Isabella. He taught her about sex in a purely academic manner, but it was never inappropriate. I am deeply sorry if you got that impression, but it was not my intention.**

**Up next: The delegation ****_really_**** gets down to business.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	14. The Struggle for Peace

**Hello, lovely readers! Hope you enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

The conflict room was fit to burst with the number gathered therein. All nine Arizian visitors, along with the king, the queen, the three princes, Isabella, and Lord Eleazar were all clustered about its table, which held a map of the two countries.

Princesses Alice and Rosalie had been extended invitations as a courtesy since Isabella was to be present, but both had declined, surprising no one. Rosalie had toyed with the idea of attending simply to prove herself to be more than an accessory to the crown. But her babe lived still, and it was her greatest priority. She could not, would not, do aught to jeopardize the precious life she was carrying. Her pride was not worth the risk that a tense meeting attended by a great number of stressed leaders was sure to present to the child.

They had been in the room for the better part of a day, and though many opinions and plans had been voiced, the problem was appearing more insurmountable each hour.

"Loathe as I am to admit it," Lord Charles sighed, "I cannot think that this strife will find a peaceful resolution."

"And removing the threat by force would not be an easy thing, since Aro has spread his following throughout the land," Lord Demitri, one of Charles's chief informants, added. He picked up a quill and began marking cities within Arizia. "They have outposts at these locations, 12 in all, spaced apart strategically. Without a central location to target and with pockets literally all over the province, it would be difficult indeed to attack without involving any innocents in the bloodshed."

"Do we know their number?" Isabella asked. She was struggling to hide how difficult this discussion was for her. She loved her people above all, and speaking of taking up arms against any one of them was as a dagger to her heart. Her husband beside her subtly placed his hand on her knee beyond the sight of the others to offer comfort.

"We have reason to believe they have more than 1,500 men ready to take up arms, spread more or less evenly throughout these outposts," Demitri said tiredly.

"That leaves little more than 100 in each pocket," Jasper pointed out, "hardly enough to stand against our army."

"Whatever our course of action, it will not be to launch full-scale invasions on 12 villages!" Isabella cried vehemently. "Some of them only hold several hundred citizens to begin with, and a military campaign would cause great panic and strife among many who have been naught but peaceful."

"Well if we cannot end this peacefully and we cannot take up arms, what options are left to us?" Edward asked of no one in particular, the same frustration that plagued all in the room clear in his voice.

"To this point, our strategy has been to do naught," King Carlisle said, running his fingers through his hair. "And though the situation has remained stable, I fear what consequences our continued inaction would yield. We cannot do nothing any longer."

"Which brings our meeting full circle," Eleazar sighed. "We have gotten nowhere, though I feel that we all have a much clearer understanding of the situation at hand."

"Indeed, I agree," the king said. "Let us take a recess and perhaps some clarity will come through all the information we have been exchanging. We shall reconvene here in two hours."

With that, the meeting was dismissed, and all rose to begin their exit from the room. The eyes of most Arizians in the room were drawn to the crown prince and their princess as he leaned in close to her ear to speak. They knew not what he was saying, but they knew the smile on her face boded well.

"Two hours, my wife," he whispered in her ear. "Shall we ride to our meadow? Perhaps continue your education? I feel as though it is lacking without its outdoor component."

Isabella smiled at his teasing. "Ride we shall," she answered softly, "though there will be nothing of your education. My mind has yet to be shaken on the matter."

"But I have yet to admit defeat in shaking it," Edward chuckled. "And I have time on my side of the battle."

They left the room and made their way to the stables. Edward said not a word when she mounted Ebony, but he did regulate their pace to a brisk trot. When they reached the meadow, he, as was his routine, tied the horses near the river, and she, as was hers, spread the blankets that had been left there from past trips.

Once both were situated on the blankets, Edward drew her slightly into his arms. She allowed him, finding comfort in his embrace after the day's difficulties and with the knowledge that they were far from over.

"What did you speak of with Leo?" she asked casually, feeling too at ease to truly worry over it.

"I have no knowledge of what you speak," he said teasingly.

"You have never tried at being coy, my good sir, do not start now," Isabella said. "Your offer to accompany him to the kitchens was not _discreet_ in the least."

"I wished to hear his mind on – well, to put a fine point on it – us," Edward admitted. "His insight was rather illuminating."

"And what insight was that, my lord?"

"He said I should argue with you about the horse you have been riding," Edward said resolutely.

"While I doubt those were his exact words, I am interested to see you carry out his advice," Isabella said amusedly, with an air of readying herself for a rousing debate.

"I am uncomfortable with your insisting on riding a stallion, fine as he is, when it is far safer for you, or indeed any woman, to ride a mare," he said definitively.

"I will agree to ride a mare," Isabella started, and Edward's head snapped around in shock, "when you agree to the same."

Edward's mouth opened and closed several times before he finally produced words. "That is preposterous," he said eloquently.

"Is it?" she rejoined. "It is true that mares are safer to ride than stallions – I cannot argue with that. But they are safer for all riders, not only women. If you will agree to the safer option, I will as well."

"But," Edward started before beginning again. "But men are stronger riders and therefore less prone to incident."

"As a rule, I'll grant that women are less skilled on a horse due to lack of training," Isabella nodded slightly. "But _I_ am as skilled as you in the saddle; therefore, you cannot claim that skill is what qualifies us for different animals. In riding, there is no disparity betwixt us."

Edward stared at her for several seconds, unsure how to proceed with his argument. He wanted to say that her skill did not match his, but he had no evidence to back up such a claim. In truth, she was an excellent rider, and he had no reason to believe she could not handle the beast in the same situations as he could. Having no valid retort, he conceded the argument.

"He did warn me that I would not succeed every time," he sighed. "I suppose this is one of them. I suspect there will be many more."

"So Leonardo's advice was to argue, if only for the sake of arguing?" Isabella deduced, sounding confused.

"He said that if I disagree with you on an issue, I should voice my thoughts, that we might come to decisions through mutual discussion," he said carefully.

"Ah, rather than simply giving in to my will in all matters?" she asked with a smirk on her lips. "Well, the autonomy was enjoyable while it was mine."

"Yes, I feel sure it was," he said wryly. "But it is not a way to live our lives, so we shall begin from this day to match wits against one another when our opinions clash. Agreed?"

Isabella regarded him with a small smile for a moment. "Agreed," she responded. "I apologize if I have seemed to disregard your thoughts to this point, but, to be perfectly fair, I am usually right in any event."

"And that, coupled with your humility, will forever be traits I admire," he said sardonically as she laughed.

"There are many more traits which you admire," she said impishly. "You simply are too proud to own it. Now let us away, else we will be late for the gathering. I shall race you to the edge of the forest."

She sprang to her feet laughing and dashed away. It was only after she had untied Ebony and begun to mount him that she noticed her husband had not done the same.

Edward had remained on the ground, staring after his beautiful, captivating wife. He wondered at her smile and thanked God that the coldness she had at first worn like a cloak was a thing of the past, that she now allowed him to see her warmth and mirth. He also marveled at her obliviousness. For though she did not realize it, she had spoken the absolute truth with her teasing. He did admire her for all her attributes. He only wished she could reciprocate in kind.

Isabella was confused by the tender and near-wistful expression on her husband's face as he regarded her. "Will you be joining me, or shall I be declared the victor by forfeit?" she teased uncertainly.

Edward groaned as he hoisted his frame from the ground and crossed the distance between them. "You shall not be declared victor at all, my fair lady," he said arrogantly. "And after today, we shall never again need to wonder at who is the better rider."

"So sure of yourself, my lord," Isabella laughed. "Then let us away!"

With that, they took off, and race they did. By the time they reached the edge of the forest, both were breathless with laughter, and Edward was celebrating his narrow victory. Isabella insisted that he won only because he had the better horse and the advantage of years riding him, while she had mere weeks with Ebony, who was not exercised as often. They bantered and teased, and Edward, for the first time, felt truly at peace in his marriage.

* * *

The delegation stayed but three more days after the first meeting. The decided-upon course of action was to station Arizian troops, under the Englasian flag, at each point of rebellion. Isabella insisted that a full military occupancy would only estrange the people further and cause unnecessary unrest, even deaths. Therefore, it was decided that, instead of patrols, displays of authority, forceful searches for rebels, and decisive removals of threats, each battalion stationed at the 12 villages would become temporary members of those villages. In that way, they could both monitor any threats by keeping their ears to the ground and also earn the people's favor and gain their trust by stimulating their trades.

The less palatable side of the arrangement was the assurance that, with 200 soldiers in each location, 100 rebels could not hope to rise up. In this way, the Englasians could wait until the rebels made the first move with the surety that, when they did, they could be contained and dealt with swiftly. Though the 2,400 soldiers necessary for such a feat would all but decimate the Arizian forces, Englasia had its own highly trained and greatly numbered military. The entire enterprise would be organized by Lord Demitri, who volunteered for the job based on his prior knowledge of the situation and the simple truth that he had no family to miss him while he toiled over this great undertaking. He would also be the communication point among the outposts to relay information to Lord Charles and, by extension, the king.

For his part, Charles was to publish as widely as he could manage tidings of the meetings with the king, with particular attention to Isabella's role in them. Fostering the good will of the people for the king was necessary both for this endeavor to succeed without an abundance of unrest and for the future of the two lands.

It was also decided that some of the delegation would stay behind for an undetermined number of months both to aide in advising the king where the rebels are concerned and to begin the process of integrating members of the two courts. Lord Jacob and Lady Leah opted to remain, as she did not wish to travel again until after the babe was born. Leonardo also chose to stay, insisting that _now_ he truly was too old to travel and wished to spend the rest of his days with his pupil, a proposition which she happily agreed to. Lord Samuel was asked by Charles to stay back as well, as he had no family and was skilled with diplomacy, something Jacob and Leonardo sometimes lacked.

In an unusual display of emotion, Isabella's eyes welled up when it came time to bid her parents goodbye. They whispered soft words while the others in the entourage and the Englasian royals stood at a respectful distance.

"I will miss you, mama, papa," she said softly.

"We shall miss you dreadfully, my dear," her mother sobbed quietly.

"Yes, we will," he father agreed somberly, surprising his daughter.

"Promise me that you will be careful and take care of one another," Isabella said urgently. "This whole business with Aro and the rebels make me ill. I could not bear it if you were harmed."

"We will be perfectly fine," her mother dismissed with a wave of her hand. "But I ask that you follow your own advice, for I fear you may be a target in all this."

"I will, mama," she said.

She waved as the carriages rolled away and continued standing for several minutes after they had disappeared, gazing into the horizon. It was only when her husband approached her and began to lead her back into the castle that she moved, attempting to dispel the sense of dread that had settled in her gut.

* * *

**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**Up next: Well, just buckle your seatbelts. Things are about to start coming to a head.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	15. Of Grief and Betrayal

**Hello, lovely readers! Glad you all liked the last chapter so much, but from here on out you might start to hate me. So just to warn you, there is a character death in this chapter.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

Isabella opened her eyes with a yawn and immediately felt disoriented. It only took her a moment to realize that she was in her chambers, alone. The unfamiliarity of the situation was both strange and welcome. She had begun spending her evenings in her husband's bed, even on those nights they did nothing but sleep. It had been a month since the delegation's departure, and she was slowly attempting to open herself to him, resting on both his genuine changes and on faith, as Leonardo had said. Last night's separation was a deviation from routine, one that was sparked by her need for distance to contemplate his proposal. She thought back to his words again.

_"Wife?" he asked as they lounged in his chambers after dinner, reading in companionable silence. He had taken to calling her by terms of endearment – fairest, my dear, darling – and "wife" was a favorite of his, both in its truth and its simplicity. "There is a matter I wish to discuss with you."_

_He had been growing bolder in voicing his thoughts when they differed from hers, but this was his first truly original idea in the advancement of their relationship. He was unsure whether she would be touched or offended by the initiative, and he did not wish to move at a pace too hurried for her._

_"You have my ear," Isabella said curiously as she put her book down._

_"We have been growing much closer in recent weeks, wouldn't you agree?" he asked carefully. At her slow nod, he continued. "And we hardly spend time apart. Would you be willing to consider taking up residence in these chambers?"_

_Isabella stared blankly at him, unsure how to respond. It was as though her mind had stilled and could not process the question. Edward, seeing that he was not going to be able to gauge her reaction, soldiered on. "Of course, you would take the attached empty rooms as your own. That is, after all, their purpose – a sitting room and a dressing room and such for my wife. But we would share the bedchamber and be truly living as man and wife."_

_Isabella's continued silence was beginning to unnerve him. He was on the brink of retracting his suggestion when she began to speak, with an air of pulling herself together. "I will consider it," she said softly. "But I wish to spend the night apart as I do so, that I might seek some clarity through solitude."_

_Though the prince was not surprised, he was disappointed. He had had fanciful and unrealistic visions of his wife exclaiming with joy at his suggestion and jumping into his waiting arms. He fought not to let her see how her words affected him._

_"If that is what you need, dearest," he said evenly. He helped her to her feet and accompanied her to the door. Her smile was faint yet genuine when she turned to him before leaving. "Sleep well, my lord," she said._

_"Fair dreams and morning clarity to you, fairest," he answered before placing a gentle kiss on her lips._

After Isabella departed his chambers, it had seemed as though her mind would not stop, and it was still moving at a brisk pace when she awoke. She knew that, should she choose to live in the prince's chambers, she would be surrendering the last territory she had in resisting him. She would no longer have a sanctuary to flee to should he ever hurt her. She had been proceeding on cautious faith, but she was unsure if her reserves were plentiful enough for such a leap.

She had no more time to contemplate, as her handmaidens arrived to begin work for the day.

"My lady, did you sleep here last night?" Breanne asked in shock. Realizing herself, she immediately began to apologize. "Highness, I am incredibly sorry for my forwardness. Please forgive me."

Isabella waved her off. "Do not trouble yourself, Breanne. I know it was surprising," she said. "And there is no reason to appear so concerned. The prince and I are on as good terms as ever."

Breanne nodded, and she and her fellow handmaidens went to work. They were just finishing when a knock sounded at the door and breakfast was announced. The eve previous, the king had declared that he had business to attend to in the morning and that the family had his blessing to dine in their respective chambers in his absence. They had all happily agreed.

Breanne began to cross the room to open the door when she suddenly swayed and grabbed at a nearby table to stay upright.

"Breanne!" Isabella said worriedly. "Claire, please open the door while Angela and I assist Breanne to a chair."

Claire allowed the men with trays of food into the room while Isabella and Angela carefully maneuvered Breanna to the couch beside her.

"What ails you, Breanne?" Isabella asked her maiden. "Oh, sirs! Could you call for a medic?"

The men who brought in the meal bowed and agreed before leaving the room.

"I know not," Breanne answered tiredly. "I have been having these spells for a week now. It will pass."

"Angela, bring me the juice on the tray," Isabella said. When she returned with the goblet, Isabella held it out to Breanne. "Here, drink this. Perhaps it shall help bring some color back to those cheeks while we wait for the medic"

Breanne eagerly took draws of the drink before stopping suddenly, her face becoming positively green.

"Breanne?" Isabella asked uncertainly.

"I – I feel—" And that was all she said. Her eyes rolled back and her body went limp before terrible and violent spasms began to rock her frame. She fell to the floor screaming, thrashing about in agony.

Isabella, Angela, and Claire watched on in horror, unable to move and unsure what they would do even if they could. Isabella faintly registered the door being thrown open but could not tear her eyes away from the horrible sight before her to see who had entered.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was truly only seconds, Breanne stilled, her eyes open but unseeing, frothy whiteness coating her lips.

Isabella collapsed onto the ground beside her and shook her hard, willing her to return to the living world.

"No, Breanne," she cried. "Please, no."

She felt strong and sure arms encircle her body and pull her gently but firmly to her feet. Though she said no more, she continued to weep, as her husband turned her and held her close to his chest.

* * *

When the medic arrived, he pronounced Miss Breanne Tanner dead, though none in the room had doubts. Slowly, the news spread through the castle, and her chambers began to fill. The entire royal family arrived one-by-one or two-by-two, and servants came to remove the body. Angela was sitting on a coach, sobbing for her truest friend's sudden death. Leonardo sat in somber silence by his favorite student as Claire recounted the events that had transpired. Isabella had not spoken a word since Edward had pulled her up, and she now sat lifelessly in his arms on the couch in melancholy, staring at the space where Breanne had fallen.

"She was ill before this . . . episode?" the king asked gently.

"Yes, majesty, she was feeling faint," Claire said, with an air of holding in tears. "But I judged it to be a result of working too hard! Never this."

"If I may, your majesty," the medic enquired. At the king's nod, he continued. "I do not believe this to be an illness. I would stake my reputation that it was poison, and from this lady's account, it appears she was poisoned by the princess's drink."

The room went still as all digested the statement. The suspicion had been mockingly dangling about in their minds, but to have it confirmed in so blunt a manner was a blow. Though Edward fought to keep his body relaxed and grip gentle for the sake of the woman in his arms, his anger was building and churning at the unnamed person who would dare try to harm his lady. Later he would seek an outlet for his ire, but he tamped down the urge for the moment.

The medic continued, "However, I have never seen a concoction that leads to this blend of symptoms. I cannot tell you with certainty the herbs involved."

"We can," Isabella said dully, finally looking up. "Can we not, Leonardo?"

"My dear, I know—" Leonardo started sadly, his heart breaking for her.

"Do not try to make the thing seem less horrific than it is," Isabella said sharply. "Tell them from whence came that herb."

Leonardo sighed before addressing the room. "Commoners refer to it as Death's Kiss. Ingesting even a small amount guarantees a quick but incredibly painful demise in the exact manor as was just described. It is native to the far northern regions of Arizia, far from the reach of any Englasian. It is also very resilient and so has endured the drought well, while so many needful crops perish. Furthermore, its properties last only two months at the most after it is taken from the ground. It could not have been harvested long before our delegation left Arizia."

Silence fell upon the room as the implications of that information sank in. The king finally spoke in a low voice teeming with restrained anger. "Round up the Arizians and confine them to their chambers," he said steadily. "Until we know how this came to be, they are not to be left alone."

The servants who had returned from removing Breanne's body at the end of Leonardo's explanation bowed before leaving once again without a word. Several in the room glanced at Leonardo for a moment, wondering if he was included in the list of suspects, but none made a move to escort him out, and the king seemed to have no objection.

"Father, may I accompany my wife back to my chambers?" Edward asked suddenly spoke up. Her despondency was frighteningly uncharacteristic, and he wished to remove her from the room wherein the tragedy had occurred. "She could use some rest after the morning she has had, I believe."

The king nodded somberly, and eight pairs of worried eyes followed as his son silently pulled Isabella to her feet and began encouraging her listless body from the room.

They continued in this manner until he had coaxed her to sit on a settee in his bedchamber, where he took a seat and pulled her into his side.

"I know not who is responsible for this," Edward said, suppressed rage in his voice. Isabella stiffened at his tone. "But I swear on my life that the perpetrator will neither touch you nor go unpunished."

When she replied, Edward was surprised at the tremor in her voice. "I wish I could understand," she said. "How could any of them even conceive of this?

"Dearest?" Edward asked hesitantly after a pause.

"Let us not insult one another's intelligence," she said agitatedly before rising from the couch and beginning to pace. "We both are aware that one of my countrymen, one of those my father trusted enough to bring with him on royal invitation, brought deadly poison into this castle and with it tried to kill me."

"We cannot know that beyond doubt," Edward tried to reassure.

"There is no alternative!" she yelled as she rounded on him. She had begun crying again, and Edward's heart broke for her. "The herb had no way to get into this castle but by them!"

"We always knew that Aro had a widespread following," Edward reasoned. "Is it truly surprising that he has infiltrated so deeply? Your people are sharply divided for the moment, Isabella."

"I've given all for _my people_!" she shouted at him, tears streaming unchecked down her face now, her voice catching with her gasping sobs. "I gave my very being to a strange and hateful kingdom to save them from starvation! How could they do this?"

"Isabella, this was neither the work of your whole nation nor even the entirety of the delegation," he said earnestly. "This was one or two out of thousands. They still are your people."

"I would have sworn that every soul in that entourage would die before allowing harm to come to me," she said despairingly, her shoulders slumping in hopelessness. "When I came here, I knew that I was alone; I accept that and plan my strategies accordingly. But never once did I consider that I had not the devotion of Arizia, especially those closest to my family. I could not have imagined that any one of them would ever dream of such a thing."

"But you are not alone here!" Edward raised his voice and stood in frustration as his hand went to his hair. "Should all the world desert you, I remain by your side. I am here, no matter the evil actions or thoughts of others. I shoulder some of your burden whether you give it to me or no. Yet you insist on bearing it yourself as well, and the both of us are weighed down beyond endurance. Why can you not see me?"

"I see you, Edward," Isabella said wearily, slumping back to the couch. "I see a man who wants me to love him desperately but who has only been trying to be worthy of such a love for a handful of weeks. I see a man who is working tirelessly to become a husband to be proud of but who has not had that conviction truly tested. And I am proud of you, Edward; never doubt that. But if my countrymen, whom I've known and trusted my whole life, are able to perform this heinous thing against me, how can I trust a man I've known only a short time, much of which was spent enduring his loathing?"

"Because he has fallen in love with you!" Edward shouted. The ringing silence that followed was deafening. Isabella's eyes widened as the rest of her body stilled. Edward paused, as though unsure how the statement had slipped past his lips, but then continued on. "I know not when my unfair hatred began to turn to the greatest of affection, but it has! You once said that you could not be mine except I be yours. I am! I have been for some time now, yet you refuse to see so despite my every attempt to make it clear. But now I speak plainly: I am yours completely and without reservation, and you occupy every part of my heart. Can you not find it in yourself to allow me the smallest foothold in yours?"

Isabella slowly rose from her seat, staring with her jaw slightly agape at her husband. Suddenly, she turned and started striding for the door, but Edward moved quickly to intercept her. He drew her struggling figure into his arms and held her tight against his chest as she flailed against him.

"You cannot say such things to me!" Isabella sobbed. "Not now, not in the midst of all this. I cannot trust my own heart to be true whilst in the midst of a raging tempest of grief and betrayal. I cannot know my own mind at present, so you shall not tempt confusion and falsehood from my lips with pretty words."

"I am sorry, I am sorry," Edward cooed softly. "You are right. Now is not the moment for such pronouncements. I needed you to know, though."

"Breanne is gone, Edward," she said brokenly. "She died in my place, and the finality and horror of it all suffocates me. She has yet to fully cool, and I cannot think past the sight of her dying on my floor. So I cannot with singularity of mind and heart give you what you seek. I am sorry as well."

Edward understood. He could not have chosen a worse time to declare himself, and he was not surprised she had resisted. But she was no longer resisting. She was clinging to him for support, and that was a start at the least.

So he pushed no further as she collapsed into his chest with wracking sobs overtaking her body once again. He asked no more questions as he gently steered her to the bed, and he stayed silent as he pulled off her restrictive dress. But after he had climbed into the bed with her and surrounded her in a protective embrace, he began to hum a nameless melody to the beat of her heart. And he rocked her smoothly to and fro to the sound of his voice as her sobs lost their gusto and her body went limp with exhaustion. And he continued humming and rocking long after sleep had overtaken her, soothing her dreams from the nightmares that plagued them.

* * *

**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**Up next: The aftermath of Breanne's death.**

**See you soon! **

**~vupgirl**


	16. Blind and Played for Fools

**Hello, lovely readers! There is another character death in this chapter: you have been warned. Hope you enjoy it – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

The sun was at its peak in the sky when the crown prince gently disentangled himself from his bride. Loathe as he was to leave her in such a state, he simply could not wait any longer for the answers he craved.

After ensuring that Sir Benjamin was outside the room to stand guard and giving instructions to send someone to fetch him should she rouse, Edward left in search of his father. His inquiries led him to the conflict room, where several guards allowed him entrance to his sequestered family.

"How does she fare?" the queen asked immediately.

"She is resting, and Sir Benjamin guards her," Edward answered tiredly. "But I fear it will be some time before she recovers from this apparent betrayal by one of her countrymen. Any news of the traitor?"

The king sighed. "Each person with access to the castle this morning who has been in Arizia at all in the last three months – including both Eleazar and Leonardo – has been questioned thoroughly. Each has given a verifiable account of their movements. Additionally, all staff members involved with the food's preparation and delivery have been similarly interrogated. None are the least bit suspicious."

"It is Lauren all over again," the queen sighed.

"No, it is not!" Edward shouted, startling the room. "This time, the target was not a convicted traitor; it was my wife!"

"You will watch your tone when speaking to your queen," the king answered, his words dangerously soft and carefully enunciated. Edward turned his head to see his father's eyes narrowed in his direction. "I appreciate that this is a difficult situation for you, but you will remember your place. Your mother is not the one who deserves your anger."

Edward breathed deeply through his nose, and his frame relaxed slightly, though his fists remained clenched at his sides. "Of course, sire, you are right," he said stiffly. "Mother, I apologize. My words were not called for."

The queen merely smiled sadly at him and nodded her acceptance.

Unexpectedly, Emmett stood and strode toward his brother. "Come," he said somberly. "Your loitering about in a crowded room waiting for some scrap of news whilst your emotions are in such chaos will do no one any good, least of all you. An outlet is what you need."

Edward could not disagree and wordlessly followed Emmett from the room. Jasper, after kissing his wife's cheek, rose and joined them. Edward informed the guards that they were going to the training center should any need them, and they were off.

They made the journey in tense silence, and soon, Edward was wrapping his hands in strips of fabric in preparation for a release of his frustrations. Emmett and Jasper sat on a nearby bench as he stomped out to a post wrapped in many layers of fabric to pad it.

Edward immediately began to rain ferocious punches on the innocent post, anger fuelling him. He welcomed the pain; he associated pain with action, and he craved the illusion of usefulness it gave him. He translated his internal turmoil into raw physicality – the tearing of the flesh of his hands, the grunts of pain and exertion escaping him, the pounding of his pulse in his ears. Several times, he felt as though he had spent himself, but by merely bringing to mind the tearstained and sobbing face of his wife he was able to find new strength to pummel the wooden structure.

Finally, his anger gave way to sorrow. His fists dropped, his shoulders slumped, and he slowly made his way back to the bench from whence his brothers had watched the entire debacle with worried eyes. Emmett quietly called a servant over and instructed him to find a medic to patch up Edward's hands.

Edward sat and stared straight ahead, seemingly unaware of his bruised and bleeding knuckles. "We are just beginning to form a sustainable relationship," Edward said quietly. "She is just beginning to trust me, and I think we can truly learn to love as husband and wife should. What demon tries to take her away before we have that opportunity?"

"We will catch the responsible party, Edward," Jasper answered with equal somberness.

"As we caught Lauren's killer?" Edward scoffed. "We are blind, and someone plays us for fools. I cannot protect my own wife."

"In Lauren's case, we were quiet about her death and our investigation, therefore many stones were left unturned," Jasper said reasonably. "In this case, we are incapable of hiding what has happened, and it would impractical to try in any event. The smallest of clues could come from literally any source in the castle since all are aware of the tragedy."

"Still, it has been several hours already. I doubt new news will reach us," Edward sighed.

"I was considering what Mother said earlier," Emmett said musingly. "About it being Lauren all over again. Do you suppose it could be the same person to commit both acts?"

"Given the similarities in the method, I suppose it is possible," Edward answered, trying to focus rather than become overcome with rage once again. "Though if that is the case, I am sure the traitor had an Arizian accomplice to supply the poison to him."

"And we assumed that Lauren was killed to keep her silent on some unknown matter," Emmett continued. "We did not, as Jasper said, overturn every stone in pursuit of her killer in the interests of discretion. Therefore, we did not question Ladies Tanya, Irina, and Kathryn, with whom she had been seen on multitudes of occasions conversing in hushed tones."

"Are you suggesting my former mistresses are responsible for this?" Edward asked furiously.

Emmett was quick to placate him. "I merely wonder if it might be worth our trouble to verify their whereabouts this morn and, in doing so, ascertain whether they know more than they have let on."

His brothers both nodded contemplatively, Edward with the simmering ember of his anger still in his eyes.

"I suppose we should return to the castle," Jasper said, rising from the bench. "If for no other reason than that our wives have suffered another great shock and may need our company."

The other two rose as well, giving their silent consent, and the three made their way back to the castle to face the remainder of the terrible day.

* * *

Isabella and Edward were sitting in front of the fireplace in his sitting room, enjoying some quiet time alone.

After Edward had conferred with his father regarding the advisability of speaking with the mistresses, he had returned to his chambers, where his wife had been preparing his rooms for her residence. He had wordlessly begun assisting her, understanding that, though they had servants who could do the task, she had needed to feel active, much as he had. The happiness he had expected upon her decision to join him in his rooms was absent, replaced by a hollow feeling. After the unused rooms had been aired out and space made for her in the used ones, they had called servants to begin transferring her belongings.

The whole process, overseen by Isabella, had taken up much of the afternoon. In the course of the activity, Edward had also gotten word that the three mistresses, though clearly holding back some unknown information, all had solid alibis for the morning and seemed just as shocked as any by the events.

Once their rooms had emptied of servants and visitors bearing news, the two had settled themselves on the sofa nearest the fireplace, which the servants had prepared before departing. Edward's arms were around his bride as he thought about the day, hating his own powerlessness.

Isabella was similarly contemplating the events of the day, wondering at the complete lack of suspects. And no matter how determinedly she tried to fix her mind upon Emmett's theory concerning the mistresses or imagine a scenario in which an Englasian had, unaided, managed to procure Death's Kiss, she could not put out of her mind the horrible truth that an Arizian had had some hand in her attempt murder.

"I want them to leave," she said suddenly, her voice tired. "I know they have all been cleared of guilt to the greatest extant we are capable, but I have not the emotional capacity at the moment to face them and treat them as I am wont. My mind will forever be teeming with doubt and suspicion should they stay."

Edward shifted to look at her cautiously. "If your decision is to send them away, I will speak with my father," he told her slowly. "But think of what you are saying. Whatever the crimes one of two among them may have committed, they are your people, your dearest friends, and I know you love them."

"I do," Isabella said. "And that is why I cannot imagine a one of them attempting to end my life. But one or more of them have, and so my love for all has been poisoned with distrust. I would see them gone."

Edward nodded. "All of them?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well, I wish Leonardo to stay, of course," she said immediately. "If there is anyone on earth that would never seek to harm me, it is he. In any event, his health would not permit him to travel the distance so soon after his journey here."

"Oh, I hardly think the old man is as frail as he chooses to appear when it suits him," Edward said with a smile. "But when I speak to my father I shall not include him in the request."

"Thank you," she answered softly. "I am scared, Edward. And that is not a state easily induced in me."

"I fear, too," Edward answered softly. "For, having come so far with you, I cannot imagine being forced to go on alone. But we are strong, our family. We will make you safe."

"If they are asked to leave, I assume they will be shown out tomorrow morning at the earliest time that can be managed?" she asked.

"If we implore my father now, that can likely be arranged," Edward agreed. "Why do you ask?"

"I do not wish to eat in the morning in the dining hall with the whole of your family," she explained. "Nor do I wish to witness the departure of my friends. I would much rather share a picnic with Leonardo in the forest and stay there until long after they are gone."

"I could accompany you instead, fair heart," Edward said earnestly, a twinge of jealousy springing in his heart that she wished to weather this particular storm with her mentor rather than him.

"I know you would, Edward," she said with a small smile, reaching back to touch his face with her hand. "But I know you. Not only do your royal duties forbid you from abandoning the castle when departing diplomats leave, no matter the circumstances, but you would also regret missing this last opportunity to sniff out the responsible party before they departed."

Edward knew her words to be true, and his pride was gratified.

"Very well. I shall go speak with my father now," he said, and with a kiss to her cheek he was gone.

* * *

The next day dawned cold and grey, reflecting the minds and hearts of many of the castle's inhabitants. After the prince's request had been granted and the visitors informed of their unplanned departure, they each attempted to gain an audience with their princess that they might seek her intercession with the king. But she refused to see them, though she cried all the while, and so they sadly packed their belongings and were set to depart after the morning meal.

Edward had elicited a promise from Isabella that, no matter the happenings of the day, she would return to him in time for the noon luncheon, to ease his worried mind. She had agreed before giving him a kiss, striding to the door of their bedchambers, and stepping into the hall, where Leonardo had been waiting with a basket prepared in the kitchens. She had waved at her husband one last time before closing the door.

Breakfast several hours later was a dismal affair, though the Arizians were not present. They were eating in their separate rooms, both in shame and as part of their continued isolation. Jacob no longer wished to laboriously request permission to stay, as he worried that anymore stress would harm his babe and his wife. He managed to convince the rest of the party that the risks were not worth the possible benefits from continued entreaties, which Samuel had been determined to issue to the king.

Soon it came time for their departure, awkward as it was. The king and queen along with their sons sent them off. King Carlisle was reasonably certain that none of those leaving was the guilty party, but he did feel that their departure was best for all those involved. Continued Arizian presence in the castle while tensions were so high and emotions so volatile could only hurt relations between the two regions further.

Edward, having not seen any indication of guilt in the eyes of any leaving, retired to his rooms to take his mind off such things with reading. He felt restless and jittery the whole while, and he longed greatly for the luncheon, that he might see and hold his bride once again.

Finally, the time arrived, and he was slightly surprised that she had not come to their chambers to greet him first. Shaking the feeling of uncertainty off, he made his way to the dining hall, where his family was gathering, with no sign of his bride.

"Mother, Father, have either of you seen Isabella?" he asked cautiously. "She was out this morning with Leonardo, but she promised to return for the midday meal."

"I am sure she will be along presently," Esme smiled, though her brows furrowed slightly in worry.

But the food came and went, much of it into Emmett, and there was still no sign of her. When the plates from the last course were cleared away, still with her absent, his worry turned to full-blown panic. She had never failed to keep her word, and he knew she would not begin now.

"Father, something is wrong," he said desperately. He hardly noticed the fear and anxiety for Isabella on the faces of his family, so lost in his own he was.

"Sir Benjamin!" the king called gravely. The knight, who had been standing guard outside the room, entered and bowed. "Begin a search for Lady Isabella and Leonardo. Search the castle and the grounds, including the forest. Spread the word to all the servants, and find them."

He nodded with a "Yes, your majesty" and left. Soon, the castle and its surrounding areas were in an uproar with the widespread search for their princess and her tutor.

An hour passed with no word, and Edward's panic turned to unreserved terror. He was pacing back and forth in the entrance hall while the castle bustled about him when he heard it. A shrill, terrified, and horrifying scream rent the air from several floors up. He, along with most in the vicinity, started sprinting in the direction from whence in came. Dread filled his stomach, but he pushed himself to reach the wailing woman.

As he got closer, he realized that the shouts were coming from the direction of one of the out-of-the-way passages Isabella was planning to use to sneak out of the castle for the picnic.

His fear impossibly increased in intensity as he rounded a corner and saw blood coating the floor. It seeped toward him from a spot further along the corridor, where a maid was staring into a room with a white and tear-drenched face.

Edward knew in the depths of his bones that the object of her gaze could ruin him once he set his own eyes upon it, but he refused to consciously acknowledge that it could be… It simply couldn't. The hallway was growing more and more crowded with servants and nobles alike, but his subjects hung back in both horror at the scene and respect for him. He slowly followed the trail of blood to where the maid continued weeping.

Finally, he was before her. She turned to look at him with terror in her eyes, terror he could feel mirrored in his own. Finally, he forced himself to turn his gaze from hers and into the small broom cupboard she had been staring into.

The first thing to register was a tuft of white hair now mattered with red. He felt a stab of guilt at the relief that swallowed him followed immediately by a wave of grief and a fresh one of fear as he stared into Leonardo's vacant eyes.

* * *

**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**I've gotten some questions about the length of this story. Right now, I have about six more chapters planned, but I may need to split or combine some depending on how the flow of the chapters goes once I start writing them.**

**Also, just to throw it out there, Claire hit the nail on the head when she guessed that Breanne had simply been overworked. There was no other reason for her dizziness. Sorry if that disappoints you.**

**Up next: Edward's out for blood.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	17. Innocent Blood

**Hello, everyone! Thank you for your reaction to last chapter; I appreciate how invested you all are. Several of you tried to guess who did it, and you'll have to forgive me for not answering. I didn't want to give anything away. :)**

**I'm sorry it took a bit long to update. I had finished it, but then I didn't like a large chunk of it and had to rework it. I am much happier with it now, so I hope you will be too.**

**Warning: more character death in this chapter. Nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

* * *

All Edward could see were lifeless eyes before him; all he could hear was his pulse thumping ever harder in his ears. He was vaguely aware of activity around him – screams and whispers, the arrival of his family, the maid's halting explanation to the gathered witnesses of what she saw, and the slow emptying of the hallway that followed on his father's command – but he only perceived the contents of the small closet in which his wife's most cherished friend lay broken.

Every detail he analyzed: the stab wounds scattered sporadically and inexpertly across Leonardo's chest, the small bloody knife at his side, the basket with food spilling from its depths several feet away, the white cloth now spattered with red in the opposite corner. His thoughts spun, and he attempted to grab them, to piece them together to into some coherent answer to the puzzle laid before him. But he could not think, could not reason, beyond one paralyzing thought echoing through his head: _Where is my wife?_

He felt a hand come gently down on his shoulder. "Son, we need to move him," his father's voice whispered in his ear. "It is not right for a great man to be left so, to be gawked at like a festival spectacle. He deserves dignity in his death."

"The basket," Edward said distractedly. He knew it was significant, though his mind could not put a fine point on why.

"What about it, son?" Carlisle asked cautiously.

"Something's not right," Edward said slowly.

"I am not sure what you mean."

"If I may, your majesty," Sir James said quietly from behind them. At his king's nod, he continued. "I believe he is referring to the amount of food. Clearly, the basket was full when this tragedy occurred."

Gasps rang out behind them as they each realized the implications.

"They – they had yet to eat?" Edward asked, his voice catching then rising in anger and panic. "But that would mean – then this happened many hours ago! He accompanied her from my chambers shortly after the dawn, father!"

"So where has Isabella been all this time?" Alice asked quietly, her eyes wide and filling with tears.

Nobody spoke. Instead, Carlisle gently pulled Edward from the doorway and nodded at the servants whom he had commanded to remain. They quickly went about removing the body and in their wake left a dense silence.

Sir Benjamin walked into the closet and began gazing about with close attention to detail. He picked up the cloth Edward had noticed earlier and gingerly held it to his nose. After a quick whiff, he promptly dropped it and kicked it away.

"What is it?" the queen demanded, her hand over her mouth in an effort to control her emotions.

"It smells strongly of Night Leaf," he said. "The herb has lost its potency over the hours, but still it reeks of it."

"For what is that used?" Rosalie asked hesitantly.

Jasper answered despondently, "It causes immediate and long-lasting fainting spells."

"That cloth was most certainly soaked in a solution made from it," Benjamin said decisively.

"So someone dared to kidnap her," Edward finished quietly. "They put their hands on her, forced her to unconsciousness, and stole her from the castle."

"But, my dear," the queen said comfortingly. "This means that in all likelihood she lives still."

"My lords, ladies, if I may?" an uncertain voice sounded softly from the end of the corridor. Heads swiveled to see a young girl, no older that fifteen, standing there looking frightened and clutching a stack of clothes.

"Girl, we have no time to discuss laundry with you, least of all now," the king said firmly, though he managed to keep the majority of his impatience out of his voice.

"I am sorry, majesty," she practically squeaked, "but we were told to report anything strange to you directly."

King Carlisle's eyebrows rose, and he beckoned her forward. "Come then, girl," he said. "Give report."

She timidly closed the distance between them and curtsied as well as she could with clothes in her arms. "I assisted in preparing the Arizians' things for travel last night, your majesty," she stuttered. "In particular, I packed many of Lord Seth's belongings. I have been returning the rooms back to their unused state all day, the search being excepted, and I have only just now begun in his room. I found these clothes stuffed in a corner as I was cleaning, but I remember clearly packing these away last night into one of his larger trunks."

"You are certain of this?" the king asked, gazing at her shrewdly.

"I would swear to it," she said. "These were in one of the trunks which had been stacked by his door to await transport to their carriages."

"And would you think that this trunk would be large enough for a person to conceal themselves inside if pressed?" the king continued.

"Certainly, your majesty," she said with a nod. "It would be mightily uncomfortable for a long stretch, but there was ample room."

"Thank you, my dear, that will be all," he said, more kindly. "You may return to your duties."

She hastily bobbed another awkward curtsy before scrambling away. The royal family was silent for several beats as the ramifications of her words dawned. But how could the culprit be Seth? How could the man who was still half child, newly engaged and full of life, have done this heinous thing against his princess?

"Well, 'tis clear what happened, then," Jasper finally voiced what all were thinking lowly. "He was the one to stay in Arizia longer than the rest of the party due to business, was he not? Once he was extended an invitation to the castle, he must have conjured some unassailable reason to remain behind and used the extra days to secure that Devil's Kiss. Since that failed, he accosted her and Leonardo this morning as they were on their way to picnic and stuffed her unconscious body into one of his trunks. One of our own servants most likely loaded her into the carriages without knowing it."

"That is the only explanation I can piece together, as well," Carlisle said with heat. "I shall never forgive myself for allowing a murderer and a traitor to walk out of my castle without so much as a struggle. We wished him a pleasant journey as he rode away with our daughter!"

"If Seth has indeed been operating for the rebellion and taken Isabella, and all signs indicate such, then Aro has crossed a line which precludes any understanding or forgiveness we might be inclined to bestow," Edward raged. "He has delivered the first blow, as we discussed, and now we strike back. Aro has gone too far; our tolerance has emboldened him and cost me my wife! He has kidnapped our future queen!"

"But how would Seth have known that Isabella and Le- Leonardo were to leave today?" Alice asked with a break in her voice.

That gave Edward pause, brief though it was. Aside from himself and Leonardo, she had told nobody of their planned excursion, and Edward had not mentioned it to any until they had long since departed from his chambers. He had toyed with sending Sir Benjamin with them for protection but had decided against it, foolishly trusting to the earliness of the hour and the unexpectedness of the activity to cloak them sufficiently. Therefore, he knew of no one who could have informed Seth of their movements. For lack of reasonable answer, he shook his head and barreled on recklessly.

"It matters not how he learned of their plans," he blustered. "She is taken just the same!"

"What do you suggest, Edward?" Carlisle asked tiredly. He glanced over at the teary-eyed Alice and the shell-shocked Rosalie, half-inclined to send them away to spare them the distressing conversation.

"We know where his outposts are!" he said urgently. "Seth must be planning to take her to one of them. I say we march on those pockets with full military force. We will find her, and once we do, we will eradicate this sect of Aro's. He and all his followers must pay for this."

"Steady now, Edward," Jasper interjected. "The previous concerns we have raised about such drastic measures remain valid. Such a widespread and forceful invasion could devastate Arizia, which, as you know, is already severely weakened by drought. Her people are barely surviving as it is, and should we add to that a show of military force in every region of the land, in their fragile state they may never recover."

"The casualties would be massive, and we could not guarantee that they would be limited to rebels, with so many peasant villages as the targets," Emmett stated. "Such is the burden of open warfare."

"I agree with all three of you, but it falls to me to decide our next course of action," the king stated with no small amount of heaviness. His family watched him with equal parts trepidation and anticipation as he gazed into space for several minutes of deep concentration. Finally, he breathed in deeply and spoke. "We shall ready our army and send word to Charles to do the same. Though the risks are great, this atrocity cannot go unanswered, and we have no other method of striking back. But while we prepare, Sir Benjamin, Sir James, I need you to ride hard and fast along the road that the Arizian delegation has taken. They are travelling by carriage with a pregnant woman; it should not take long at all to catch up with them on horseback with only the two of you. Once you do, apprehend Lord Seth and find the trunk of which the girl spoke. If your princess is in it, do all you can to save her and bring the both of them back to the castle. We wait upon your return to confirm or deny our suspicions before riding out."

"I go with them," Edward said immediately, giving his father a look that dared him to disagree.

"We will need you here," the king said steadily.

"I am not truly needed, and I cannot remain here waiting for news," the prince said vehemently. "We are wasting valuable time."

The king gave him a hard look before nodding. "Be off then."

And so it was decided. The king's sons rushed into action after a dubious looks were exchanged between his second and third. Messages were dispatched, both to Charles and to the leaders of the Englasian forces. Men began rallying and preparing their equipment for travel and battle.

After quickly donning riding gear and gathering necessary provisions for their journey, Edward, Sir Benjamin, and Sir James set off to overtake the Arizian delegation. They rode in silence, pushing their horses to the outermost reaches of their abilities. Edward felt his heart pounding throughout his body as the wind whistled in his ears. He had the half-crazed look of a man dedicated so wholeheartedly to a task that he would die before turning aside from it. He imagined several times that he heard the beautiful voice of his wife calling out to him in pleading and desperate tones, crying for help. Each time, he pushed his stallion impossibly faster. The trio alarmed many a passerby with their speed and urgency as they went by, but the prince did not slow to accommodate them, and the knights followed him.

Finally, after what felt like days but was truly mere hours, they saw the shapes of two large carriages ahead, and Edward nearly laughed with relief. That relief turned to dread mere moments later when he recognized that something was dreadfully wrong. They were gaining on the shapes much too quickly, and he suddenly realized that the carriages were not moving at all. Each second, his horror grew.

The carriages were not only stilled; they were on their sides. The horse teams for both seemed to have vanished, and trunks littered the ground around the rear one. Edward came to an abrupt halt behind them, his eyes falling on the ground beside the lead carriage, which had previously been blocked from his view. At the sight before him, he swayed on his saddle as the blood drained from his face.

After his wooziness passed, he dismounted as though in a trance, joining the knights already on the ground. Slowly, he approached the scene that was both familiar and dissonant from the one in the unused corridor this morning.

Blood littered the ground, coloring the dust and staining the countryside. Three bodies lay haphazardly beside the upturned carriage, though Edward knew that four lives had been lost. Lords Samuel and Jacob had clearly fought, judging from the swords at their sides, but they had been ultimately unable to protect themselves and the pregnant Lady Leah against whatever had befallen them.

Edward turned suddenly to the trunks strewn behind him and strode with a blind panic toward them. But somehow he knew, before he took the first step, that she was not there. He had known it from the moment he registered Seth's absence. He would not have accomplished all this and simply left his prize behind.

True enough, a cursory inspection revealed an open trunk, much like the maid had described, large enough to hide in, emptied of all its contents. Whether his mind was playing tricks on him, he knew not, but he thought he could smell her scent in its depths.

"He killed his own sister?" Sir Benjamin's voice broke through his grief. "She was carrying his niece or nephew, and he murdered her? What monster is this?"

Neither Edward nor James answered the question. "Sir Benjamin, Sir James, stay here to protect the fallen and prepare them for removal," Edward said instead with a steely determination about him. "I shall ride back and send a party here to return them to the castle. I will inform my father of what we have found and of Seth's great betrayal, and I expect we shall be marching on Arizia by dawn."

Without another word, the prince swung himself up into his saddle, his only thoughts of his wife. He knew not where she was, but he knew he would find her. And every single person to stand between him and his love along the way would pay with their lives.

* * *

**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think!**

**A big thank you to Daisy Mae for her rec on A Different Forest, and welcome to the new readers from over there!**

**So I realize that many of you are thirsty for the culprits' blood. Well, so is Edward. And I promise that all involved will be dealt with by the end.**

**Also, this is a little random, but it's come up a couple times in reviews. I apparently didn't make it clear, but an explanation would be hard to slip in at this point: The mistresses never slept in Edward's bed. He always met them in other rooms that he had set up for just such a purpose.**

**Up next: We see what's going on with Isabella.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


	18. In the Shadow of the Dawn

**Hello, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter – nothing belongs to me, of course, and all mistakes are mine.**

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The first sensation that registered to Isabella's mind was the ache that seemed to have crawled through her muscles and rendered them useless. The second was the rhythmic rocking and clicking. A moan escaped her, and she feebly attempted to stretch her limp muscles. Sharp pains and tugging at her wrists and ankles made her aware that they were bound. She blearily opened her eyes only to find that blackness surrounded her on all sides.

Before she had time to process these discoveries, the carriage she was trapped in stopped abruptly, jerking her body where she lay on her side. She heard footsteps, and despite the fog of confusion in which her mind was enshrouded, fear crept through her consciousness.

A door directly in front of her swung open, and she immediately squinted and blinked at the bright glare of the sun. Before her eyes could focus, a hand reached toward her and covered her face. As a sweet scent flooded her nostrils and her tenuous hold on alertness slipped away, she thought she recognized the face glaring at her from beyond the carriage doors.

* * *

When awareness once again reached her, she was no longer rocking to the low pulse of a moving carriage. Her mind felt much clearer without the hypnotic sounds and sensations and the absolute darkness of the carriage, and after several seconds of deep breaths of fresh air to sweep away the last of her mind's cobwebs, she catalogued her situation minutely without moving.

The same muscle weakness and pain that had plagued her previously remained, and her limbs were still immobilized. She was lying on her side on what seemed to be hard ground, but it was the sounds she could hear that caused her concern. What seemed to be hundreds of voices, all of them male, buzzed in her ears, while the clattering of metal on metal rang out periodically. She had never been in a military camp, but she imagined one would sound like this.

After she had taken measure of her surroundings, she turned her attention to that which had led to her current state. She remembered clearly waking up in Edward's arms and walking with Leonardo in the castle corridors. An instinctual and unexpected pain hit her heart as she thought of him, and suddenly her memories began to quicken as though in answer to her confusion.

She remembered speaking softly with Leonardo about the Arizians' looming departure when suddenly she had been jerked from behind into a soft, curvaceous body. A cloying scent had filled her nostrils, the same she had smelled in the carriage later. She struggled as her mind began to fog, but the effort had been feeble as her body succumbed to its artificial exhaustion. Leonardo had grabbed at her attacker, his face filled with rage, but he had been pulled to the side almost immediately by two figures Isabella had identified as Ladies Kathryn and Irina. With surprising vigor for a man of his age, Leonardo had begun to violently fight against them to protect Isabella, even managing to land some blows on the bewildered girls' bodies. Such was his struggle that Lady Irina had produced a dagger from her bosom.

Isabella had watched helplessly, fighting to stay awake, as Irina thrust the weapon at her mentor and friend. The whole scene stilled for a moment as Leonardo looked down at the blade protruding from his chest and the rest stood in awe and horror of what Irina had just done. Then, she seemed to shake off whatever qualms of conscience she had been overtaken with. She pulled back her arm and drove it once again into his body, twisting it with an evil grin. Again and again she repeated her murderous act, and the last thing Isabella saw before she was forced to surrender to darkness was Leonardo's face staring straight at her in fear and anger as he fell to the ground, blood flowing from him in torrents.

A tear fell from her eye, then another. She could not fathom a world in which Leonardo did not exist. He had always been a constant in her life. Even when they were apart during her first few months in Englasia, she knew he was but a letter away, forever willing to impart wisdom and give advice. The thought that, more likely than not, he no longer inhabited the earth was one she could not begin to process.

And, she realized, she did not need to at the moment. She could not afford to truly feel his loss and sift through the emotions it would elicit, for, as sad as the thought made her, other priorities took precedent.

Her first order of business: to discover her location. She opened her eyes into slits and peered around. Her earlier assessment seemed to be accurate. She was in some semblance of a military camp, though she could see no banners or colors on the men and tents to identify the group. From the lighting and the activity of the men in her direct line of vision, it was evening.

Her mind began to pick up pace as she tried to piece together what she knew to make sense of her situation. She knew that Ladies Irina and Kathryn, in addition to a third woman, started the chain of events that ended with her current state. She felt fairly confident that she could assume the third to be Lady Tanya. She knew she was transported by carriage and forced to unconsciousness for the second time by a man. She could not recall his identity, merely a vague sense of familiarity. And now she was in a sizable camp filled with what seemed to be disjointed forces.

Her immediate assumption was that she was in the Aro's rebel camp, but she could not find a way to unite what she knew with that supposition. Why would Edward's former mistresses be working with Arizian rebels? She supposed that they could be working from a place of blind jealousy and delusional hatred, but how could they even manage to coordinate such a scheme? They were sheltered by the Englasian court and were not intelligent enough to find a covert way to communicate with Aro without another's help. Furthermore, to spirit her out of the castle and transport her here without detection would be a feat impossible on their own.

The other problem she saw was the size of the camp. While there were not enough troops to confront the combined forces of Englasia and Arizia, there were certainly more than the king had been told were in any one place, enough to do plenty of damage wherever they planned to wage war.

Suddenly, the murky memory of the face she had seen in the carriage came into sharp focus as she remembered who exactly had told the king of the rebels' locations and numbers. Another tear fell as she realized the horrible betrayal of her father's long-time friend. But again she pushed aside the unpleasant thought for more pressing matters. Lord Demitri would be dealt with in due course.

With that memory, she now felt fairly confident that she was in the unified camp of the Arizian rebels, though she still could not reconcile the mistresses' role in the whole plan. Ever so carefully, she turned her head to take stock of her immediate surroundings. She seemed to be on the fringes of the camp, unaccompanied and, for the most part, unheeded. They were in a forest, inhabiting a cleared-out portion. She turned her head again, and the sight that met her eyes made her stomach turn. Lord Seth, bound hand and foot, stared at her with one glistening eye. The other was swollen shut and colored purple and blue. She took in the rest of him, noting the deep cut on his sword arm and the swelling of his left thigh.

"Seth?" she whispered, horrified.

"Princess, thank heavens you are alive," he said with equal softness. "You were unconscious for so long. I – I thought–"

"I am perfectly alright, but what of you?" she said, her mind whirring with confusion. "How did you come to be here?"

"I was wondering the same of you," he answered. "We were riding on the main road on our way home, when our party was ambushed. Demitri was with them, the traitor. He and a dozen other Arizians attacked us, and we were overwhelmed by their numbers. They – they slew the others in cold blood. Princess, they killed my sister and her babe!"

Isabella's eyes welled once again at the loss of so much life – of her childhood friends – and the pain of the young man before her.

"I am so sorry, Seth. They were dear to me and so many others, and they will be mourned. But they are at peace and with the Lord now," she comforted, though the words sounded hollow in her ears, as all condolences do in the face of such abject grief. She decided to try a different method. "Do you know why you were left alive?"

He shook his head as he rallied himself. "They seemed to avoid deathblows against me and knocked me across the head once the opportunity presented itself," he said. "I know not why, and I remember no more after that until I woke here. You were already beside me."

"I must have somehow been transported with you, for I distinctly remember Demitri's face along the journey," she said musingly. She looked back over at the young man barely clinging to his composure. "Seth, I know this is difficult, and I know that every part of you yearns to collapse on itself in grief and pain. I know for I feel it too. Leonardo was slain while trying to protect me against some of the Englasian court who ambushed us; that is the last thing I remember. I know what you feel, but we cannot succumb, not now. We must stay strong and focused that we might thwart whatever devilry is afoot. We grieve later; now we work toward the undoing of those responsible."

Seth nodded and was trying to wipe his wet cheeks on the shoulder of his shirt when an abrasive voice startled the both of them. "Ah, the princess and the brat have finally decided to wake."

Isabella turned over to look at the speaker. A tall man with black hair was standing over her, a wild look about him. His clothes were unkempt and tattered, and his face was wrinkled and overgrown with hair. He brought to mind a wild boar: sporadic and impulsive yet all the more dangerous.

"And who are you?" she asked as regally as she could manage while bound and lying on the ground. "For only an incredibly obtuse man would dare openly mock his future queen."

"You will never be my queen, you traitor!" he roared. "You forfeited that right when you agreed to marry the Englasian scum and turned our people over to the enemy!"

She breathed slowly through her nose to keep composure as this erratic man raged. "Well, that still does not answer the question of your name, sir," she said reasonably.

He sat down next to her on the ground and answered mockingly, "Aro, my lady. I feel certain you have heard of me."

"Indeed I have," she said calmly, unsurprised but a bit disappointed that such a man was the threat that had caused so much fear. "You are the one so deluded that he thinks he can overpower the combined forces of Arizian and Englasia. Of course, I suppose you must have a gift for persuasion, as there seem to be a multitude of others whom you have convinced to join you in your delusion."

"I would watch my tongue if I were in your predicament, princess," he growled. "The courts of nobles may well tolerate your speaking out of turn, but here you will remember your place as a woman and a captive."

"My place here, Aro, is the same as it is anywhere in all of Englasia, including the province of Arizia," she said firmly. She knew that referring to Arizia as part of Englasia would rile him, but she also knew that backing down meekly would not yield the answers she sought. She needed to know what plan he had concocted, and as long as she seemed unimpressed by his schemes, he would continue revealing details that he might incite fear in her. And after all, none of them had hurt her yet. She imagined that they thought her bargaining value would be severely depleted should another man but her husband lay hand on her. Isabella knew Edward would do whatever he could to save her, no matter her condition, but they did not know how he cared for her.

"Not for many more days," he said gloatingly. "For then, we will reclaim what is ours and punish the Englasians in one fell swoop. And you and every other traitor among the courts will be executed for your treachery."

"You are daft if you think you have a prayer of defeating the Englasians," she said complacently. "Their forces outnumber yours thrice over."

"Perhaps," he said with a large grin. "That is why we will not ride to meet them. They are currently readying themselves to graciously empty Englasia of all but a few remnants of their army."

"And why would they do that?" she asked, and though her façade remained intact, she felt the first inklings of true fear.

"Why, because we have captured their beloved new princess, of course," he said delightedly. "They believe Lord Seth here was working with us and has taken you to one of our outposts. They will soon ride out to scour Arizia and all those poor villages until they find you, while we wait here along the southern border of our great land, miles from the main road that they will take north to enter Arizia."

"So there are no outposts?" Isabella prompted. The feeling of dread in her stomach intensified with every word.

"Of course there are outposts," he said maliciously. "We have stationed a handful of our number at every town they will be marching on. Mostly, they are young and impassioned men who we thought were best left out of the nasty business of taking over a country. Do not have enough conviction in our cause and are not tough enough to face battle, you see. No, we left them safely in the Arizia, manning the posts we have created. They are the ones your Englasian army will encounter."

"You mean for them to die," she pronounced softly, struggling to keep the horror out of her voice. "You know that the Englasians will kill them, as they are now in open warfare with you, and you know that their deaths will incite anger and hatred for the Englasians."

"You are a quick one, my lady," he said with a bit of a cackle in his voice. "And with their forces out of the way, we will be free to move south into Englasia and take the country. I don't imagine that the king and his princes will want to risk the lives of so many innocent Englasian lives by confronting us once we are secure, especially if their wives are among the threatened."

"And how long until you plan to move?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, my source inside the Englasian court has informed me that their forces intend to ride out at dawn," he said happily. He seemed to be so enjoying his boasting session that he had forgotten to whom he spoke. Or he was so confident in his plans that he cared not what she knew. "And since the castle is only a day's hard march from the border, they should reach Arizia before another sun has set. We will give them another two days to ensure they are far beyond helping their country's distress and fully entrenched in their campaign before we march out."

"What source is this?" she asked, cataloging the information he was giving. If the troops were to march out in mere hours, she did not have much time to escape and find a plan.

"You will find out soon enough, princess," he said with a smirk. "I would not want to spoil the surprise you will receive once we get to the castle and take its inhabitants hostage. His identity will be a shock for many, I wager."

Isabella searched her mind for anything else she wished to ask, anything else that would help her. Nothing came to her mind. "Well, you seem to have put a great deal of thought and effort into your plot," she said with a yawn. "I cannot imagine what you plan to do once you are set up in Englasia, but I am tired and fear more conversation will wear me out. Perhaps on the morrow you can expound on your great subversion."

She was already closing her eyes when he huffed and said, "You will not dictate to me. As it happens, I wish to sleep as well, so I go to rest in my comfortable tent. I will send men to watch you in the night, so no thoughts of–"

He trailed off as he saw the steady rise and fall of her breathing and the vague look on her face. "If I did not need you alive and well, I would show you what happens to anyone who falls asleep while I am speaking," he grumbled before ambling away.

Isabella listened to his retreat, wondering at this odd man. He was petty, proud, and overconfident – that much was clear – but he seemed less delusional and impulsive once she had heard his plan. In addition, he had not struck her once and so was clearly capable of restraint when needed. She still did not think him to be completely sane, though, as his erratic mood swings and irrational crusade against the Englasians displayed belied an unbalanced nature.

She dared not move as the watchmen Aro had promised came to sit nearby, talking in hushed whispers and louder sniggers. She suspected they were talking of her in a lewd manner. She did not care. Her attention was not on their juvenile comments but on her next move. If they remained awake for the whole night, she did not see a way to escape. But these were untrained and untested men, unused to the rigors of war. She imagined that they would be unable to stay awake all night but would fall asleep before too long. She would stay awake until that moment came and devise a strategy from there.

In the stillness and darkness, she struggled to keep her thoughts on the present and the immediate future. She wished neither to remember those who had fallen, their lives and violent deaths, nor to contemplate the life that stretched before her without them. She distracted herself with thoughts of her husband, wondering what he was doing and hoping that she could somehow avert the disaster that would soon befall him and the rest of her new family.

She was surprised at how long the men managed to stay awake. Hours passed as they murmured and she feigned sleep, each moment hastening the departure of the Englasian forces from the castle. After what seemed an eternity, she finally heard soft snores from where the watchmen sat. She peaked at them quickly to ascertain their state. Both were flopped over on their sides, one snoring and the other with drool escaping his lips. She ever-so-carefully rolled over the face a wide-awake Seth, his face set in determination. She looked at the cords that bound his hands and feet and knew more of the same were on her own.

They both glanced about for something to loosen them, and Seth, for lack of other evident option, nodded behind Isabella toward the sleeping men. She looked back at them and saw what he was indicating. One of them had left a dagger next to him. Presumably, it had been in his hand to aid in stopping them should they try to escape, but it had dropped to his side when he had fallen asleep.

Seeing no other option, she began slowly and gingerly shuffling her body toward the men. They did not even stir as she leaned in, delicately grabbed the dagger with the hands bound behind her, and shuffled back to her original position. She shook her head at the idiocy of these men who intended to take over an entire nation.

Seth watched with a sort of hopeful mania as she started carefully and quietly working at the cords around her wrists. The sound of the metal on the cloth seemed deafening in the stillness of the night, but she continued despite her misgivings. Soon enough, she felt the bindings give, and she joyously, though silently, wriggled her wrists until they were free.

Immediately, instinctually, her hands went to her stomach, holding it in a sort of loving embrace. Seth's eyes went wide, but he dared not comment. Isabella seemed to come to herself after a moment and suddenly began sawing at the cords about her feet much more recklessly. Once her feet and Seth's hands were free, she stood on shaky legs to regain her equilibrium while Seth freed his own legs. Once he was unbound, he rose to his feet as well, and they tiptoed their way into the looming forest, pausing at every sneeze and cough, every movement they heard from the camp.

Finally, they reached the cover of the trees. They breathed easier but continued walking until they were sure that they were out of earshot of the sleeping camp.

"We cannot hope to escape on foot," Seth said as soon as they had stopped. "They will discover our absence any moment, and we cannot outrun an entire army."

"Did you see where the horses were?" she asked, wasting no words on a redundant agreement.

"Yes, the paddock is at the edge of the camp, near the woods," he said. "Four of ours were among them, and they will respond to me. I have spent much time among the royal horses."

"Good, go fetch the two fastest," Isabella ordered. "Tempting as it might be, do not take all four. I know you love the animals, but leave the slower ones there. Would my presence be a help or a hindrance in securing them?"

Seth paused for a moment in thought. "I think it best that I go alone," he said. "One intruder is more than enough to excite the horses. I would rather not tempt fate with any more than that." He did not add that he could not bring his princess back to the enemy camp and imperil her safety in such a risky attempt. She would have little chance of escape if he were caught, but a better one than if she went with him.

"Very well, go now," she said. "And Seth, if you do excite the horses and are discovered, do not hesitate. Mount on the nearest one and gallop back to me."

Seth nodded, turned slightly to the right of the way they had come, and began trotting back through the woods, favoring his left leg all the way.

In the next minutes of silence and solitude, Isabella hardly dared breath, straining her ear for any sign that Seth's journey had gone ill or that their absence had been discovered. Her head swiveled at every rustling bush and whistle of the wind.

Finally, she heard the steady clomp of hooves against the forest floor, and Seth appeared between the trees holding the reins of two strong horses.

"It was laughably easy," he said. "I know not how these men expect to hold an entire country against all of Englasia's armies. They have not the slightest bit of training and have taken naught but the most rudimentary of precautions against escaped captives and nighttime thieves."

"They are trusting to their bargaining chips, two of which have just left their custody," she said urgently. "Let us away before they discover it."

They both mounted a steed and began trotting westward, toward the main road.

"Seth, we have no hope of reaching the castle before the troops ride out, so I intend to meet them on the road to head them off," she called to him. "I need you to ride to my father, who I am sure is readying his army to join the king's, and update him on recent happenings."

"He will not believe me," Seth said immediately. "Aro said that they believe me to be the traitor."

"Our family has long possessed a phrase known only to us for use in emergency situations such as this," she said. "I have never used it in my lifetime. Tell him, 'The thorn and the rose are of the same stem,' and he shall know that you come in good faith from me."

"I am uneasy about leaving you alone," Seth said with a quick glance at her stomach, an act unmissed by the princess. "My first duty is to the crown, and that requires ensuring your safety, princess."

"Then as your princess, I am ordering you to go to my father and warn him of the coming dangers," she said, her voice swelling with authority. "I will have no arguments, and refusal to obey would be treason."

He nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. "Then I away, princess," he said. "Farewell."

"Farewell, Seth," she said in return. "Fair travels."

And with that, Seth turned abruptly to the north and sped away in an urgent gallop. Isabella looked to the sky, seeing it lighten with the first sign of the new day. Knowing that the troops would be marching out at any time, she followed Seth's lead and urged her horse to the furthest reaches of his speed, praying to God that she could reach her husband before any part of Aro's plan could be realized. It was too horrible to contemplate the price if she could not.

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**There you have it. Drop me a review to tell me what you think! I'm sorry it's late. I don't really have an excuse except that I'm feeling the pressure of these last few chapters. It's all been leading up to this, and I want it to be worthwhile.**

**Up next: The troops ride out.**

**See you soon!**

**~vupgirl**


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